Can Pirates be Parents?
by Neonculr
Summary: When you have nothing, it doesn't take much to make you happy. Three jobs and ruthless tax collectors is what Jo calls comfort and happiness. When she is ripped from her 'perfectly happy life' and put on a pirate ship where she fears for her life, how will she handle it? Also, what lies in store for this little girl? Dedicated to kmsoftball98
1. Chapter 1

I woke up with a start. I sighed and pushed myself off of the floor. I looked at my bed, and saw the same thing as usual. Emptiness.

I sighed again and changed out of my pajamas, looking at my reflection in the broken mirror.

"Who am I?" I whispered, holding my locket.

Oh, I better let you know what's goin on. My name is Jo. At least... I think it is. I had no parents growing up. I was raised in an orphanage until I was fourteen, then I ran away. I fended for myself for two years, and then I got a job. That was six years ago that I ran away...

As of now I get by working three different jobs. I can pay for my meals and my home, but it's just enough to get by. I make a lot of sacrifices, but it's what I have to do to survive.

I brushed my hair and straightened up the room. My home is small with only a few rooms. Bathroom, kitchen, bedroom. After tidying up I still had some time before work, so I began fiddling with my locket. I've had it since before I can remember, and it was a keepsake from my mom. It had two letters on it; a capital J and lowercase o. I figured that was my name.

BANG BANG BANG!

"Open up!"

I sighed and grabbed the sack of money from the safe. I opened the door and handed the money to the tax collectors. I went to close the door, but they stopped me.

"Ah ah ah, taxes doubled over the weekend." One said.

"What? But then, how will I have enough to buy food? Without that, I'll starve!" I yelled.

"Sorry little lady. Now pay up, or you'll be sleepin in a cell." The second one said.

I sighed and said, "One moment." Then, I went back into my bedroom and grabbed the last of my gold pieces from the safe.

I walked back to the door and handed them the sack. The first two left, and the third one tipped his hat and said, "Pleasure doin business with ya." Then, he left.

I closed the door behind me and sighed as I slid down to the floor.

"Looks like I'm not eating this week." I said. I pushed myself up and headed to my first job, the clothing store.

It was a fun day. I helped lots of customers, and sold quite a few outfits. I even got praised by the owner.

My second job was the most unusual. Archery lessons. I was the best archer in the town, which I thought was cool. It was a good day. I had a little boy hit a bull's eye!

My third job was my least favorite, a barista. I put my bow and arrow away, and then headed over.

"Jo, can I talk to you?" The manager asked.

"Yessir." I said, putting down the cup I was drying.

He sat me down in his office and looked at me.

"I heard something quite surprising about your performance yesterday."

Chills went down my spine and I broke out in a cold sweat. What did I do wrong this time?

"I've been hearing a lot about you lately, so I've come to a decision."

"Sir, please! Without this job, I'll lose everything! The tax collectors already took everything! Without this job I'll never be able to eat again!" I clapped my hand over my mouth and looked up at the manager. I never told anybody about myself. They all figured I had a family and a house, just like them.

"Actually, I was going to promote you. I've been hearing lots of good things about you. I... I never knew you had troubles..." The manager said.

"Please sir, just pretend I never said anything. There's no need for you to pity me. I thank you for the promotion, but I ask that you do not raise my salary out of pity or concern." I said.

"As you wish."

"I also ask you do not tell anyone about this."

"I won't."

"Thank you, sir." Then, I walked out of the office and began working.

A few minutes later, a group of six men walked into the bar. They sat down at the counter and ordered a lot of liquor.

After serving them, the usual rowdy gang piled in, sitting at the bar.

I took a deep breath and smiled, walking over to them.

"Hey there sweet thang, I'd like some whiskey, and a bit of you along with it." One of the already drunken men said.

"Okay, one whiskey. What would the rest of you like?" I asked, keeping my polite tone.

"We'll have some beer, and maybe some action from you." The leader said.

"I'll have your drinks ready in a minute." I said, turning and walking towards the bar. They whistled at me and said some things, but I ignored them.

"Excuse me," one of the six men from before said.

I turned to him and he beckoned me closer. I walked over to him and he asked, "Do you know anything about the Emerald Pass?"

I gasped a little, and that peaked their interest. I looked at all of them, and leaned in close.

"The Emerald Pass is near my home. I've travelled the pass, but it leads to a dead end. There is ancient writing on the wall saying you must have three keys."

"Doc, you sure know how to pick 'em." A man with an eyepatch said.

"What are the three keys?" The youngest of them all asked.

"Lemme see... There's the sapphire key, the ruby key, and the diamond key. I think there was something else..." I racked my brain for answers, and a man with two swords became impatient.

"Spit it out!" He yelled.

I glared at him and he became quiet. I waited until the attention drawn disappeared, and I snapped my fingers.

"I remember! There's a fourth key! It will be right in front of you, but you won't know it! It's part of the legend around the pass!"

"Legend?" A man with a bandana asked.

"Yeah! The legend says that there's a room behind the Emerald Pass's end, and that a few select souls can enter. The room is rumored to be deep underground, guarded by rock creatures and booby traps. Only the strongest people can make it to the bottom. You need the forth key to open up the room."

"What's in the room?" The swordsman asked.

"Not sure. Some say a single chest that will grant you any wish, but with terrible consequences. Some say mountains of cursed gold. There was one interesting thing I heard about the room once, though."

"And what was that?" An intimidating man asked. He looked like the leader of the guys.

I hesitated for a second, and then I spoke. "An old woman I knew told me there is a ring in the center of the room on a pedestal. Nobody knows what it does, but-"

"HEY!" The rowdy guys yelled, drawing all attention to themselves.

"What kind of joke is this!?" The leader yelled, looking at his drink. He pointed at me and yelled, "It's you!"

I walked over to him and asked, "Sir, what's wrong?"

"You did it! Look at it!" He pointed to his drink, and I looked at it.

"Sir, there's nothing wrong with your drink-"

"You did it!" He yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me roughly towards him. "LOOK AT IT!"

I looked at the drink, and noticed something under the cup. It made it look like there was something in the drink. I picked up the cup and moved it, then looked at the thing underneath it. A spider had gotten trapped. I let it crawl onto my finder and said, "See sir? It was just a spider. Will you please let me go so I can put it outside?"

The man looked at the spider crawling on my hand and let me go. His eyes widened and he broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed like he was really freaked out, and I quickly moved away from him.

"I'll tell you the rest in a minute." I said to the six men. I walked outside and put the spider on the windowsill, watching it start to make a web.

I became aware of a presence and looked down the street. I saw a shadowy figure in the distance, and I tilted my head. I blinked, and it disappeared.

I shook my head and said, "I've been working too hard..." Then, I walked back into the bar.

"Where was I?" I asked the six men.

"You were talking about the ring on a pedestal." 'Doc' said.

"Oh yeah! Nobody knows what it does, but it is rumored to be the greatest treasure on Earth."

"That's awesome!" The youngest one exclaimed.

"But be warned, if this is true, you must pass multiple tests to acquire it." I warned.

"Thanks, you helped us a lot." 'Doc' said.

I flashed him a smile, and then I tended to customers at the bar.

I was looking out the window when something disturbed me. The shadowy figure was standing there. It wasn't doing anything, just standing there. I saw its arm move, and then saw a glint near its hand.

"EVERYBODY DUCK!" I yelled as I pulled out my bow and arrow.

BANG BANG!

I heard the gunshots as people ducked and they hit the bottles behind me. I jumped up onto the counter and released an arrow. It flew through the shattered glass and knocked the gun out of the figures hand. The figure then ran away out of sight.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked, watching everyone come out from underneath tables and getting off of the floor.

Nobody looked hurt, and the manager rushed out of his office.

"What happened!?" He asked.

I jumped down from the counter and explained what happened to him.

"I think we should close for today." I said, looking at all the shattered glass and spilled alcohol.

"Good idea." The manager said.

The bar closed and everyone left. I stood outside and picked up the shadow figures gun.

"Hey," Someone said from behind me.

I turned to see 'Doc' from the group of men that came in.

"Hi." I said.

"My crew and I couldn't help but notice your archery skills." He said.

A laughed a little and said, "best archer in town."

"My captain wanted to know if you'd want to have dinner on the ship with us."

"Sure! Sounds awesome!" I said, placing the gun in a safe place.

'Doc' led me to the port, and I stopped upon seeing the familiar ship.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just thought this ship was familiar."

'Doc' laughed a little and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if you knew it."

I boarded the ship and was lead to the dining room, where everyone was. The captain welcomed me and a feast started.

"This is so good! I haven't-" I stopped myself before I could continue. I almost said, 'I haven't eaten anything in the past week!'

"So, I noticed yeh got some really good archery skills!" The captain said.

"I got interested in archery when I was about ten. I practiced sometimes, but I did it a lot more when I was fourteen. Since then I just got better and better." I said, taking a huge bite out of the meat.

"Why would a woman be interested in archery?" The swordsman asked.

"Russell," 'Doc' warned.

The captain laughed and conversation enveloped the table.

"So, what happened at the bar?" The youngest one asked.

The table became silent while awaiting my answer.

I began fiddling with my locket as I said, "there was this shadowy figure. I saw it when I put the spider outside, but it disappeared so I told myself I imagined it. Then I saw it standing outside the window and saw a glint. I knew it was a gun so I told everyone to duck, then I shot the gun out of its hand." I placed the gun on the table, and everyone looked at each other.

"Can I see that?" The captain asked.

I handed him the gun and he said, "Yep, it's Alan's gun."

"Who's Alan?" I asked.

"He's the captain of a rival ship." The captain said.

"Rival ship..." I repeated, thinking. I looked around the table, and a sense of familiarity tugged at the back of my mind. My eyes rested upon the captain, and I looked at his profile. I had seen all of these men before. I've seen them before the bar, I knew it.

"Russell, that's my meat!" The youngest one yelled.

"Shut up, Thomas! I'm hungry!" Russell said.

I turned my attention to the other conversations.

"Oww! Christopher, lemme go!"

"Eduardo, you're not supposed to say things behind people's backs."

Those names... They're so familiar...

"What's wrong?" Christopher asked.

"This is all so familiar... I just can't put my finger on it..."

I looked around the table one more time, and noticed something. A shadow had appeared, and people were lurking around on the deck of the ship.


	2. Chapter 2

I slowly drew my bow and arrow, alerting the crew. I gestured to the deck outside the window, and they all drew their weapons.

We stealthily made our way to the deck, and ambushed the crew. We were beating people left and right, when I noticed a presence behind me.

Before I could do anything I was gagged and tied up. I squirmed and fought, but I couldn't do much. I was led to where everyone was and pushed down.

"Master Alan, I found a woman!"

I rolled over onto my back and sat up. Everyone had stopped fighting. Just then, the shadowy figure appeared. It came towards me, and I felt my heart race. Then, the figure stepped into the light and revealed a pervy looking man.

"I never knew the Sirius had a woman aboard. A beautiful one at that." The man said.

"Alan, what do you think you're doing!?" The captain yelled.

"I'm kidnapping a beautiful woman." Alan replied.

He had come a little closer to me, and I used the opportunity to kick him in the shin. He crouched in pain, pulled a gun from out of nowhere, pointed it to my head, and then said "Come on, don't be so cold. Let's go to my ship."

At the sight of a gun to my head, the men tensed up and froze.

"Morgan I will let you know I am taking this woman as mine. She will live on my ship and I will shower her in love every day."

"Alan, let her go." The captain said.

Alan's crew began to gather in a circle around me. I spun around, using my foot to knock their feet out from under them. I then flipped over the men before they could grab me and hid behind the crew, who untied me.

All of the men looked at me in amazement, and then a very large woman appeared out of nowhere and charged at me screaming, "How dare you humiliate Master Alan!"

I managed to dodge her, and she went right past me over the edge and into the water.

"Fuzzy! Men, retreat!" Alan yelled, gesturing for his crew to retreat with an angry look on his face. They pulled the woman onto the ground of the port, and Alan yelled, "We will meet again, my beautiful flower, and I will make you my woman!" Then they disappeared into the crowd as his laughter hung in the air.

The ropes were cut from my wrists and I took off the gag. Then I was showered in questions ranging from, "How did you do that?" to, "What did you do to Alan? What's his deal with you?"

"Guys, calm down. She'll answer your questions one at a time." Captain said.

I told them I didn't do anything at all to Alan, and Nathan spoke up. "Stay away from him. He's a creep."

"Is he really that bad?" I asked.

"Alan... needs to straighten out his priorities." Captain said.

"Oh wow..." Just then, I felt a presence behind me. I quickly turned around, but saw nothing.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked.

I held up a hand. It still felt like there was something there. I took a few cautious steps, following the presence. It led me to the side of the ship, and then it disappeared.

"What happened?" Christopher asked.

"I don't know..." I replied. I looked out on the port in the direction the presence was, and saw a small shop I had never seen before. "Madelyn's antiques..." I whispered under my breath. "Do you guys like antiques?" I asked.

"Depends." The captain replied.

"Look..." I said, pointing to the shop. "I'm gonna go check out that shop. If you need me, I'll be there." Before anyone could tell me where the exit was, I jumped over the side of the ship and landed on the concrete platform of the port.

I walked towards the shop, unwilling to take my eyes off of it for a second, fearing that if I did it would disappear.

I walked in through the front door and saw... Well, it was a strange items shop.

"Aha! This is the store I was looking for!" Captain yelled from behind me.

Captain started eagerly looking around the store, and a strangely shaped necklace caught my eye. I picked it up, and a strange feeling of nostalgia washed over me. It was like seeing an old friend.

"Excuse me," I said to the shopkeeper, "Isn't there a ring that goes with this?"

"You are quite knowledgeable, young lady. The matching ring is rumored to be in the room at the end of the Emerald Pass." He said.

"I see…" I said as I took off my locket.

"Where did you get that!?" The shopkeeper exclaimed as he took hold of my hand. "I'll pay you fifty thousand gold pieces for it!"

"W-What? Why would you pay so much for my locket?"

"It is one of the keys for the Emerald Pass! I will pay you one hundred thousand!"

"She has one of the keys for the Emerald pass…?" Thomas said.

"Wait a second… Isn't this the sapphire key?" I asked, looking at the strangely shaped necklace in my other hand.

"You have too good of an eye…" The shopkeeper said. "I even went through the trouble of disguising it. You deserve it much more than I do. You can have it for free, and keep the diamond key."

"T-This is the diamond key!?" I exclaimed, looking at the golden locket. "B-But there isn't a trace of diamond on this necklace!"

"'Diamond' can mean a range of things. To you, no matter how much fine jewelry or things you have, this necklace will be your diamond, correct?"

"A keepsake from my mother is the diamond key…? But how did you know this was important to me?"

"Many years ago, I owned a little orphanage in Reiz. There was a little girl who refused to get adopted unless her parents came to pick her up. She always told me they were alive. She ran away at fourteen, taking nothing but her savings, the clothes on her back, and her locket. I haven't seen her since. I never thought I would find her in my shop in Yamato."

"Takkun? I haven't seen you in years! Where's Maddy?"

"She left awhile ago to visit her relatives. She'll be back on Wednesday."

"I see. But why did you open an antique shop?" I asked.

"You see, when you're old like me you have many things you don't know what to do with. Trading and selling turned in to this."

After wrapping up the conversation, I noticed I left my bow on the ship.

"Hey guys, can I go back and get my bow?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll go with you." Christopher said.

"No! Have Thomas go! I need you here!" Captain yelled, still browsing.

"Thomas?" Christopher said, looking over at Thomas.

"On it! Come Miss Jo." Thomas said, gesturing me to go.

Miss... Not quite fond of that. I headed out of the store and back to the ship, taking the sapphire key with me.

Once on deck, Thomas asked, "Where did you leave it?"

"It's either here or in the dining room." I said.

"I'll look on the deck."

"I got the dining room!" I said, quickly heading over. Once I opened the door, I began searching the room.

"There it is!" I yelled, picking it up. It knocked something over, and it fell to the floor. I went to pick it up, but stopped short. It's... A treasure map. I looked around the room, and I managed to put two and two together. Sirius... Sirius pirates!

"Miss Jo, did you find it?"

I gasped and turned to him, fear overtaking my features.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked, confused.

"Don't come near me!" I yelled, taking hold of one of my arrows.

"Miss Jo-"

"No! I want off this ship now!" I yelled, taking aim at Thomas.

"Miss Jo, what's wrong?" Thomas asked frantically.

"You're pirates! I don't know what you're planning to do, but I won't have it!" I yelled.

"What's going on!?" Someone yelled from the door.

I snapped my head around and saw Captain, followed by the rest of the crew.

I gasped as terror filled me. I'm going to die! My hands began to tremble and my bow slipped from my grasp, landing with a clatter onto the ground.

I backed up, only to hit the wall. All of them were in the room, their eyes piercing me. I desperately looked for a way out, an escape. My bow was a few feet in front of me, and I could jump on the table. I could then kick off the wall over their heads and run on to the deck, then run down the port, disappearing into the night.

I did just that! Well, kind of. I was about to run onto the deck when a pair of hands grabbed my arms from behind, making me unable to run away.

"No! Let me go!" I yelled, fighting to get away.

"I told you I'd come back, my beautiful flower!" Alan whispered in my ear.

The Sirius pirates ran out of the room after me and I kicked Alan in the shin. I ran from all of them and shot arrows as I did so. They deflected them, because I didn't take the time to aim.

I was about to jump off of the ship onto the port, when I noticed something. We were sailing away from the port! I looked at the ropes, and noticed how the deflected arrows had cut them.

"No..." I whispered in shock.

I heard the Sirius pirates fighting Alan, and I looked around for a way off the ship.

Out of nowhere a ship appeared, and Alan swung over, then sailing off into the distance.

"There she is!" The captain yelled from behind me.

I quickly spun around and reached for an arrow, but I had no more. I looked at the Captain in terror as he smiled.

"Captain, what are we gonna do with her?" Russell asked.

"I want to go home!" I yelled, forgetting my fear.

"Sorry woman, can't do that. We don't have time to turn around, and we need the keys." Captain said simply.

"What!? The port is right there! I want to go home!" I said, stomping my foot on the ground.

"What a troublesome woman. Why don't we just take the keys and throw her overboard for the sharks?" Eduardo said.

"What!?" I exclaimed.

"You, woman. What's your name?" Eduardo asked.

"Jo..."

"Jo. I might remember that after you're shark bait." He said.

"Shark bait!?"

"Either that, or we could sell ya at the harbor."

"Just turn around so I can go home! Seems like you guys don't even want me on this ship in the first place!" I said.

"Now pick one. Would you rather be shark bait or sold?"

"Eduardo, you're scaring her with all that talk. She's frightened." Christopher said, patting my head.

'Where did he come from!? He was over there just a second ago!' I flinched away from him.

"So, what do you want to do?" Eduardo asked.

"If I can't go home can you give me another option?"

"You're not making this easy for us. Let's see, we could leave you on an island, feed you to the seagulls..."

"No! No! No!"

"You've had enough fun with her. Why do you frighten her?" Christopher asked.

"He's right. She ain't worth bothering ya so much! She didn't want to stay on board with us." Thomas said.

"No woman on our ship! Pirate ships don't carry women!" Russell yelled.

But that one huge woman…? You know what, never mind. I don't care anymore.

"So are you gonna throw her in the sea where the sharks are starving!?" Christopher exclaimed.

"Heh. Are sharks even interested in her?" Eduardo asked.

Jerk.

"Ha ha ha!" The captain laughed. "This is some entertainment... Perfect under the full moon."

His hand is on my shoulder... Wait, where did he come from!?

"I made a decision! This woman is now a member of the Sirius!" the captain yelled.

"What!?" all of us yelled in unison.

"Captain! Yer out of yer mind..." Nathan said.

"I was wondering that this ship reeked too much of male sweat." the captain said.

What? That sounds… wrong.

"You were wondering..." Nathan mumbled.

"It's Captain's order, guys." Russell said.

"I was having so much fun with this..." Eduardo said.

'These guys are too much...' I said in my head.

"Hey, we got an extra crew member!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Woman. Listen carefully... Sirius has three strict rules. One, protect your buddy with your life. Two, never let women or children get harmed. Three, we party till dawn when it's a full moon."

I looked up at the sky and saw the full moon shining down on the deck.

"Don't worry. These guys are all nice to women." the captain said.

"I'm not sure about that..." I said half to myself.

"Oh, hell. We'll just give her a lot to do." Eduardo said, sounding irritated.

See my point?

"Ha ha ha! Look at her face... Isn't it unique?" the captain bellowed.

I scrunched up my face in confusion, and the captain laughed again. Then, his face turned serious. "We have one problem though. We don't have a spare room for you."

"Huh?" I replied, a little confused.

"You gotta share a room with someone." he said.

"Share a room!?" all the guys exclaimed.

"What!?" I yelled.

'Do I get no choice in anything that's happening!?'

"Who are you going to share a room with?" the captain asked.

What about my house? My life? Everything? "I have no choice in this, do I?" I asked.

The captain kept a smile on his face, urging me to answer.

I sighed and said, "I don't care."

"Yeh don't care?" Nathan asked.

"I don't care anymore." I said.

The guys looked at the captain and Eduardo asked, "well, what are we gonna do?"

The captain smiled said, "She'll stay in Nathan's room!"

Nathan groaned and the captain asked, "Woman, is that alright with you?"

"Whatever." I said, folding my arms and looking back towards the port. I left the group and looked back, remembering everything. My past, my secrets. I gripped the locket around my neck and footsteps sounded behind me.

"Are you comin? I'm goin to my room." Nathan said.

I turned and followed him without a word. He opened the door, and the room was bigger than I thought it would be. I took a quick look around, and then stretched out on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"Going to sleep. Have a problem with that?" I asked.

"Nope." Nathan said. He threw me a pillow and blanket, and then stretched out on his bed. I turned over onto my side with my back to him, and closed my eyes in an attempt to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

After awhile I heard his calm breathing along with the sound of the waves. I hadn't noticed before, but the rocking of the boat is very relaxing, and the salty sea air gave me a clear and pleasant feeling. My mind began to wander, thoughts ranging from what tomorrow will bring, if anyone will miss me, my house. My thoughts soon took a depressing turn as I replayed my past through my head. To get away from that topic, I tried to remember my parents. The time before the orphanage. I had to have at least one memory, somewhere.

Two blurry faces and the cold feeling of a brand new locket around my neck.

"A present to our only daughter, our most beloved treasure. Know that no matter what happens, we will always love you." My mother said.

"Whenever you feel sad or alone let our love warm your heart." My father said, stroking my tiny head.

"It's funny that were saying this. She'll never remember." My mother laughed softly.

"Even though she is small, I know she will remember the strong love we have for her." My father said, taking hold of my mother's hand.

My eyes flicked open. I... I do have parents... And they love me... So how did I end up in an orphanage? Did they not want me anymore? Could they not afford me? Did they... die?

I shook my head to get rid of these thoughts, and relaxed. I decided to just listen, and hope to clear my head, but one question still nagged at the back of my mind. Finally, in an almost inaudible whisper, I asked it aloud.

"Who am I?"

I heard Nathan stir a little, and turned over to face him. His eyes were closed, but his breathing wasn't calm and relaxed. It seemed like he was pretending to sleep.

"Are you awake?" I whispered.

No reply.

"...Guess not." I said. I threw my blanket off of me and stepped outside. I went to the bow of the ship and felt the breeze.

"I want to go home..." I whispered, tears filling my eyes. They began to fall down my cheeks as I remembered everybody. Even though I don't have a very good house and little food, I had a wonderful life. I had everyone at all of my jobs, and my dream job as an archery instructor. Now... I'm stuck on this ship with pirates that will probably end up killing me before we get to the next port, even though I'm a 'member'.

"I want to go home..." I whimpered. I sat down and hugged my knees, letting the tears fall onto them.

"Yer gonna catch a cold." Nathan said from behind me.

"I don't care. I just want to go home. I don't want to be here on this ship sailing away from everything I know. I want to be back in my run down home where the tax collectors are merciless but the smiles are friendly. I had lost one life, so I don't want to sail away from another."

After a few seconds of silence a blanket was put over my shoulders. Before I could thank him, Nathan went back into his room.

I stayed out on the deck all night, thinking. Christopher got mad at me but I really didn't care. Eduardo had plopped a pail of soapy water and a brush in front of me, telling me to clean the deck.

I tied the blanket like a cape and started brushing the deck, mumbling insults and death wishes.

By high noon I was almost done with the deck, and I heard everyone mumbling about me to Eduardo. They were mad at him for making me do this myself, but I simply ignored them and kept scrubbing.

I threw the brush in the bucket and plopped it next to Eduardo, who scowled at me. I glared at him as I passed, but directed my eyes forward.

I climbed up a pile of cargo and pulled myself up a rope, reaching the top of the mast. "Time to practice."

I jumped from the mast and a few of the crew members saw, yelling for everyone else. I was too focused on what I was doing to hear them.

I grabbed a rope and swung above the deck just a few feet above their heads. I let go and flew towards another rope, but while I was in midair I launched a few arrows.

I used my free hand to grab the rope and swung upwards, flying towards the smallest set of sails. Before I reached the branch I launched some more arrows through the slight gap between the sail and the branch.

I gripped the branch with one arm and kicked off, flying towards the bow. I launched six arrows as I flew, making a vertical line of arrows down the smaller mast. Then I grabbed the bowsprit, swinging around it and landing on top.

I shot three more arrows, splitting the first ones in half. My brow creased in concentration and I ran up one of the ropes connected to the bowsprit. I fired arrows at multiple targets, my farthest one being a gap in the steering wheel. As I reached the top of the rope and stood on the small mast's branch, I jumped down and flipped, landing with my bow put away on the deck. My makeshift cape covered my back and I stood up.

"Geez, I've gotten out of shape…" I said to myself. "So why are we sailing away from the Emerald Pass when that's where you guys want to go?" I asked no one in particular.

"We need to find the ruby key. We've been searching for awhile, so now the only place left to look is Moldor, Reiz, and the Mysterious Islands." Christopher said, appearing out of nowhere.

I flinched away from him and asked, "T-the Mysterious Islands!? Are you insane?"

"We've searched some, but we overlooked the last logical place for it to be…" He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So then what island do you think it's on?" I asked.

"The last place it could be is Jungle Island, but it'll be extremely hard to find."

"I see…" I said. "Is there anything else besides scrubbing the deck you want me to do?"

"Here." Eduardo snapped, tossing me a list.

I opened it, and it was like a cartoon where it reached the floor.

"Eduardo! You can't expect her to do all-"

"I'm on it!" I exclaimed, saluting. I grabbed my cape on either side and ran to the storage room, getting ready to take inventory.

After that, I patched up the sails, repaired clothing, scrubbed the crow's nest, cleaned the bathroom, carried medical supplies to the infirmary, took food to the kitchen, dusted the dining room, made every bed, organized cargo, polished the railing, put every book on every shelf in alphabetical order, and finally cleaned up the deck. That included putting away ropes, boxes, cannons, and making gunpowder, cannonballs, and the cannons out of the way but easily accessible.

"What are you doin?" Someone asked from behind me.

I flinched and turned around, only to find Thomas looking at me curiously.

"I-I was just doing what Eduardo told me…" I said, showing him the list.

"He gave you my list of chores! No wonder I had hardly anything to do today…" Thomas said.

"What's going on over here?" Christopher asked, appearing beside me.

I flinched again, and Thomas explained what happened.

"Damnit Eduardo…" Christopher said, glaring at Eduardo as he walked in to the dining room.

"It's okay! Really, I don't mind doing a lot of work! I like being busy. I don't know what to do when I have free time besides practice…" I said.

Christopher looked at me curiously, but then turned his head. "You should get cleaned up. Nathan will get mad if you get the dining room dirty again."

I looked down at my clothes and saw they were covered in dirt and gunpowder. Thomas and Christopher left towards the dining room, and I went to Nathans room to look for a change of clothes.

"Let's see… I have a white tank top and some baggy pants. I guess that'll have to do." I said. I put the clothes on, only to find the tank top was _way_ too small. "…It'll be okay if I wear one of his shirts. I hope he doesn't kill me…" I said, opening a drawer and taking out one of Nathan's white shirts.

I tucked the shirt in and loosely tied the blanket around my waist, using it as a sash to hold my pants in place better. I headed out to the dining room, and everyone else was already when I walked in.

"Eduardo! Why did you give Jo Thomas's list of work!?" Captain exclaimed.

"Damnit… How did you find out?" Eduardo asked, looking annoyed.

"You didn't think we'd find out you were giving a girl so much work?" Christopher snapped.

"Umm…" I said awkwardly, feeling out of place.

Everyone looked at me, and it took me a second to figure out what I was going to say. I bowed to Eduardo and said, "Thank you for giving me a lot of work."

"What the hell?" Russell said, confused.

I raised my head and said, "The truth is, I'm actually really happy you gave me a lot to do. Even though you were just trying to pick one me, if I didn't do anything I'd feel like I was stealing from you all."

"Stealing?" Thomas repeated.

"Well, you guys are giving me food and a place to sleep. If I didn't do something to pay you back I'd feel bad." I said, shuffling my feet awkwardly.

Captain threw his arm over my shoulder and started laughing. "I like this woman! You all can learn something from her!"

"You all still scare me though…" I said under my breath as I tried to escape Captain.

"What the hell is she doin wearing my shirt?" Nathan snapped, emerging from the kitchen.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't have any other clothes and I didn't want to get the room dirty so I just grabbed one of yours! Please don't turn me in to food!" I exclaimed, nervously eying the knife in his hand as I spoke quickly.

"It would be a waste of time turning you into food. Ya probably taste like old meat."

"That's mean! I'm not even old!" I yelled.

"Ya look old." He said quietly.

"I'm younger that you, you old man!"

"That reminds me. How old are ya?" Captain asked.

"About twenty."

"About?" He repeated.

I sighed, figuring out I gave too much information. "I grew up in an orphanage. I don't know when my birthday is or what exact year I was born, but I know I'm around twenty or twenty-one." I crossed my arms and said, "But I'm not gonna bore you with the whole, 'My parents abandoned me so I'm sad inside' sob story. Plenty of people are worse off than I am, so I have no reason to be sad at all." I took a piece of meat off of the table, when I remembered I forgot something on the list.

Before anyone could say anything to me, I yelled, "Damnit!" and ran out the door, taking the meat with me.

*pant… pant…*

"Why are these things so damn heavy?" I asked, rolling the twelfth wine barrel up the stairs. "Only three more up the stairs, then its easy rolling…" I told myself. Just then I slipped on the edge of the step and my foot bent the wrong way, but I used my other foot to stop myself from falling. "Damnit, that hurts…" I said with a grimace. I considered stopping and getting help, but decided against it. If I can't even roll some wine barrels, how can I get these guys to take me seriously?

I struggled with the last three barrels and actually slipped a couple more times, only making my ankle worse. My progress was slowed down significantly, though it wasn't very fast in the first place.

"Damnit… my ankle hurts…" I said, only halfway up the stairs. I only had this last barrel to push up the stairs, and then I just had to roll them to the kitchen. Nathan needed them for a celebration in a couple days or something.

"What the hell are all these barrels doin out here?" Someone asked.

I flinched at the unexpected voice and slipped again, but I jammed my hurt ankle in to a crevice so I wouldn't fall.

"D-Damnit…" I choked, trying not to cry. I hurriedly pushed the last barrel up, using the rest of my strength to do it quickly.

"What the hell are ya doin moving all these barrels?" Nathan asked.

"Eduardo, *pant pant* said I needed to move them, *pant pant* to the kitchen for a party…" I said, struggling to catch my breath.

"What the hell…? We're not having a party anytime soon." Nathan said.

"It was, *pant pant* on the list…"

"Damnit Eduardo, why are ya so mean to er?" Nathan asked himself. "C'mon, let's roll these barrels back down." He said.

"I think I need to see Christopher first…" I said, sitting on a barrel to get off of my ankle. "I slipped and twisted it…"

"When'd you do that?"

"An hour ago…"

"Yer hopeless…" He said, picking me up and carrying me to the infirmary.

Christopher was gently bandaging up my ankle, when Eduardo was thrown through the door.

"What the hell Nathan!?" He exclaimed, pulling out his gun.

"Look what ya made her do." He snapped, pointing at me as he walked through the door.

Eduardo looked at my ankle and said, "It's not my damn fault. The woman probably tripped or somethin."

"She hurt herself by tryin ta move the barrels I didn't need." Nathan snapped.

"It's not my fault she got hurt. If she can't even move some damn barrels that's her own fault."

"Eduardo, she wouldn't have gotten hurt if you didn't tell her to move the barrels. All you did was make more work for us." Christopher snapped.

Damnit, now they're fighting because of me. If only I wasn't so damn weak I could've just moved the barrels and none of this would've happened… Man, I think I'm gonna cry. I've caused nothing but trouble and I've only been on the ship for a day.

"Please… Don't fight…" I said, my voice breaking.

The three turned to look at me, and I stared down at my lap as tears dripped from my eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't move the barrels, I'm sorry I got hurt, and I'm sorry I couldn't do it by myself, but please, don't fight…"

"Jo?"

"I'm sorry I'm imposing on you by being on the ship, I'm sorry I've caused you all nothing but trouble, but please, don't fight… Damnit, now I'm going to cry and worry all of you… I'm sorry…" I said, bringing my knees up to my face as I hugged them.

Nathan put his hand on my shoulder and glared at Eduardo, who had an irritated look on his face.

"I'm sorry for getting you in trouble Eduardo… please don't hate me… But I guess it's too late for that, isn't it?"

I looked up at him, but his eyes turned away from me as he scoffed. He left the room with his arms crossed, not looking back even once.

Captain's not going to like this.

Damnit.


	4. Chapter 4

I limped around the ship for the next couple of days, but did as much work as I possibly could. I would prove to these pirates a little injury by my own mistake wouldn't make me useless. I would do whatever it took not to be thrown off the ship, and to gain Eduardo's trust.

Speaking of Eduardo, he hasn't spoken to me since that day. He's only glared at me and laughed when I did something wrong.

"Rrg... Come on, move damnit!" I said, pushing a box across the deck. It moved extraordinarily slowly, and my bandages weren't letting me get my footing right.

"Need some help there?" Thomas asked, poking his head around the box.

"...Yeah, that'd help a lot. Are you done with your work?" I asked as he moved next to me.

"Yup! I just finished a minute ago."

"Thanks. I still have some stuff to do..." I said, straining to move the box.

"Really? How much more?" Thomas asked, pushing along with me.

"I don't know. I'm just doing whatever I find." I said, wiping my brow.

"What? You don't have any specific jobs?" Thomas asked.

"No, nobody will let me do anything because of my ankle. So now I'm just doing whatever I hear needs to get done."

"Christopher will get mad at you..." Thomas said.

"He can get mad. I need to prove to everyone I'm not useless. I did this to myself, so I can't let it make me inferior." I said, getting my footing and heaving the box forward.

"You're really committed, Miss Jo. I mean, you didn't want to be on the ship in the first place. I'm surprised you took on so much responsibility willingly." Thomas said, smiling at me.

We finally finished moving the box, and I noticed Eduardo looking at me from the wheel.

"Sorry to say this, but you guys are still kind of scary to me. I want to do whatever I can to get on your good side so I don't die." I said jokingly. The first part was true, though.

Thomas slapped me on the back and said, "You're too helpful to let go! You should stay with us forever and have adventures with us!" He said it jokingly, but the smile on his face told me he was serious.

I threw my arm over his shoulder and said, "Only if you can put up with my clumsiness and stubbornness."

Thomas laughed and said, "Everyone is stubborn on this ship! You'll fit right in!"

We laughed together, and suddenly his face lit up. "Hey, I want to show you something! Come with me!"

He hurriedly swept me off the deck, and I heard Eduardo mumble something before he took me under.

"Wow! Your room is so big!" I exclaimed, looking around.

"It's a warehouse. It's pretty useful if I need anything." Thomas said, smiling again.

"It's like a castle! Full of places to explore and adventures to be had!" I said, climbing up some cargo boxes.

"Be careful, Miss Jo..." Thomas said worriedly.

*Squeak!*

Suddenly something crawled up my arm and I flinched, causing the boxes I was standing on to wobble. I shook for a second, but ended up on the floor.

"Miss Jo! Are you alright!?" Thomas exclaimed, pushing away a box.

"Ahaha! S-stop, it's tickling me! Ahaha! I can't breathe!" I exclaimed, rolling on the floor and laughing with tears in my eyes.

The thing that was tickling suddenly jumped on Thomas, and turned out to be a rat.

"Squeaky! You made Miss Jo fall! Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm perfectly fine. You named him Squeaky? How cute!" I said, taking hold of the rat and petting him.

"You like rats, Miss Jo?" Thomas asked, a little shocked.

"I had rats at my house! I also like snakes, lizards, other reptiles..."

"Is everything okay down here? I heard a crash." Someone said from the door.

We both turned, and saw Nathan sticking his head brought the doorframe.

"We're fine! I just fell off some boxes!" I said happily.

"Her hopeless..." Nathan said, walking away.

Thomas and I laughed, and Squeaky tried making a nest of my hair.

After hours of adventuring in the castle and playing with Squeaky, I finally started working again.

"There, tied nice n' tight." I said, patting the pile of cargo. "Now, what next...?"

"Miss Jo, it's time for dinner." Thomas said, tapping my shoulder.

"Alright, I'm coming." I said, putting down the extra rope and following him.

Dinner was very lively. Everyone was having fun, talking, and laughing. Well, except for Eduardo. He was moody and snapped at people.

"Haha! Ya sure have some funny stories woman!" Captain said, his bellowing laughter surrounding the dinner table.

"But what you don't know yet is Shelly was Eric's fiancée, but she left him for Daniel." I said, setting my glass down.

"Really? Why'd she do that?" Thomas asked, completely enveloped in the story.

"You see, Eric may be all there in the looks department but he doesn't make much. He's a farmer, so his income varies. Daniel is like the king of business there, so his income can easily outweigh Eric's. Daniel's pretty good looking too." I said, finishing the last of my dinner.

"What a shallow person!" Thomas exclaimed, outraged.

"Then I probably shouldn't tell you they're twin brothers."

"What!?"

"Yeah, I'm the only one that can tell them apart at a glance. I even dated Eric for a few years." I said, refilling my glass.

"You had a boyfriend? Hard to believe." Russell said with a stupid look on his face.

"Thanks. Anyway, I thought I was going to marry the guy one day. But he breaks up with me and hooks up with Shelly the next day. Of course I never went that far. It still kinda hurt my feelings that he ditched me like that, but I'm over it. He got what he deserved and I don't care anymore."

"Geez, just what goes on in a small town?" Christopher asked.

"You'd be surprised what working three jobs can teach you. Nothing got past me. I knew every side to every story in that town."

"Tell us another one!" Thomas said excitedly.

I yawned and said, "Sorry, but I'm gonna get to bed. I'll tell you another story tomorrow." I said, standing up. "Night guys." I said, waving as I walked out the door.

"Night!" I heard some of them call.

Suddenly a hand covered my mouth and my hands were held behind my back.

I struggled and bit the person's hand, but before I could scream a bag was thrown over my head. Just as whoever was there tried to tie my hands, I threw my foot back and kicked them.

I heard a gasp and ripped free, throwing the bag off of my head and reaching for my bow.

...Which I left in Nathan's room. Damnit!

I screamed, hoping the crew would hear me, and began to run away.

What I didn't know was there were two people, so while the other was recovering the second one caught me. I wasn't quick enough to resist, so I was tied and gagged.

I was suddenly in the air, and heard someone scream my name.

I heard the scarce sound of footsteps as I thrashed around, and a thud clearly reached my ears.

"Miss Jo! We'll save you!" I heard Thomas exclaim.

I was suddenly back on the ground, landing on my butt, and laughter filled my ears.

"I have captured my flower Morgan! Now watch as she blooms in my shower of love!" A person I figured to be Alan said.

That sounded gross. Like, really gross. I can't even explain it.

The gags were taken off and I saw Alan, creepily smiling at me. "Hello my beautiful rose. I'm sorry it took so long to rescue you." He said.

I felt the ropes release my hands and I scurried to the railing of the ship, pushing past Alan and staring back at the Sirius.

"My bow... My baby is in the ship... I left her behind..." I said, clutching at the railing. "Hurry and rescue me guys. I'm sorry you have to do this, but I'm not a good swimmer. I need my baby."

"What is it, my flower?" Alan asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing." I said, tucking my locket and the sapphire key in my shirt.

I shouldn't cause trouble. The Sirius guys will rescue me, and if these guys successfully kidnapped me there's no telling what else they can do. For now, I just need to wait.

"Your room is this way, my rose. It is separate from mine, unfortunately, because I have to prepare first. But tomorrow, we shall embrace in the night." Alan said, opening the door for me.

"Thank you, and good night." I said politely.

"Sleep well." Alan said, closing the door.

I locked it, and looked at the room. There was pink. And rose petals everywhere.

Ugh.

I swept the rose petals off of the bed and took the white under blanket, leaving the pink quilt on the bed. I wrapped the blanket around me and looked at the bookshelf, only to find weird erotic novels lining the shelves.

"Nope." I said. After checking the titles to make sure there really wasn't anything to read, I pulled a stray atlas out and sat at the desk. I investigated it thoroughly and found nothing of interest besides a few pieces of parchment. After reading them, they also turned out to be useless. I shoved the small amount of valuables in my pockets, and sat down at the desk. I began studying the atlas, only to find treasure maps wedged between the pages. There were hundreds, each one unique and different.

When I finally tore my eyes away from the pages, the sun was rising in the sky.

With no Sirius in sight.

I bolted out of the room to the end of the ship, only to find open water greeting me.

"They... left me... My baby is gone..." I choked in disbelief.

"Hey, whatta ya mean we left ya? Ya went to the wrong side of the ship." Someone said.

I snapped my head around and saw Russell.

A smile enveloped my face and I laughed.

"C'mon, let's get back on the ship." Russell said, waving me towards the deck.

I nodded, and ran back to my room. I put the valuables and the atlas in the blanket and tied it up, taking it with me.

Turns out the Sirius crew stole all of Alan's treasure too.

"Flower, come back! You will wither with those foul pirates!" Alan exclaimed.

"I'll wither if I'm drowned in pink and rose petals." I snapped. With that, I swung back over on the Sirius.

As soon as my feet hit the deck I ran to Nathan's room, grabbing my bow and giving it kisses. "I'm so sorry baby! I'll never leave you in here again! From now on you'll always be with me!" I said, still giving it kisses.

"You're weird." Nathan said from the door.

"Shut up! This bow has kept me alive since I was 14! I have the right to love it!" I said, hugging it protectively.

"Whatever. You better let everyone know yer alright. Thomas is freaking out." He said, walking back towards the deck.

I picked up my arrows and followed him, and upon reaching the deck I was attacked by a crying Thomas.

"Miss Jo! I was so worried about you! Alan is a pervert and I was afraid of what he would do to you!" He yelled.

"I'm fine. You guys rescued me before he could do anything. And, I got something cool." I said, untying the blanket and taking out the atlas. "It's filled with treasure maps." I said proudly.

"Well done woman!" Captain exclaimed, slapping me on the back.

"Gimme that!" Eduardo exclaimed, snatching the atlas from me.

"Your welcome." I said rudely, putting my hands on Thomas's back.

"There are tons of maps in here!" Russell exclaimed, looking as Eduardo leaves through the pages.

"There's a map to the ruby key is in there somewhere." I said, patting Thomas's back as he blubbered.

"What!? Where is it!?" Eduardo exclaimed.

"Page twenty-one."

Eduardo hurriedly flipped to the page, and a single map fluttered to the ground.

I pried Thomas off of me and gently picked up the map, careful not to crack the dried page. It was yellowed with age and dangerously fragile; with ink so faded it was almost invisible.

"You have to be careful. This is an old map-"

"I know, just give it to me!" Eduardo snapped, trying to snatch the page from me.

I jerked back from him and pulled the page out of his grasp. "Idiot! I just said the page is fragile! You can't go snapping at it or you'll damage the page!"

"I don't give a damn! Just give me the map!"

"Knock it off damnit! Just because you don't like me doesn't mean you have to throw a fit!" I snatched the book from him and turned on my heel, saying, "I'm gonna go copy these maps before you ruin them with your attitude."

I threw open the dining room door and grabbed a large piece of parchment, using the atlas itself to draw the world. I then jotted down all the lines, labeling them clearly and precisely. I used different colored ink to label different types of treasure, and specifically marked the ruby key route.

"That escalated quickly." Someone said from the door. I turned, and saw Captain standing there.

"I'm sorry for causing a scene. I just got a little irritated." I said, looking at the floor.

Captain sat down next to me and said, "We've got a lot of strong personalities on this ship. They butt heads a lot, but they get along well. I added you to this crew hoping you would fit in with us."

"Captain?"

"Ya see, with a bunch of guys on a ship problems will never get solved. I was hoping by adding you to the crew, they'd come out of their shells. But, it looks like Eduardo retreated further in."

"I see. Excuse me." I said, standing up. I hurried out of the dining room, and saw Eduardo standing at the wheel. I walked over next to him, and felt the light breeze tickle my face.

He noticed me, but I quickly grabbed his shoulder. I ended up tripping over my foot, but Eduardo caught me before I hit the deck.

"Damnit woman, yer nothing but trouble." Eduardo said, irritated.

I held on to him and said, "Look, I'm sorry I'm useless and got hurt, but I'll do whatever I can to make up for it. I want to prove to you I'm not completely worthless. Please, just give me a chance."

He has silent for a few seconds, but I heard him sigh and mumble something. "Whatever. Just let go of me."

I hurriedly jumped away from him, kicking the steering wheel's post and hurting my foot.

"...Ow," I said, embarrassed.

Eduardo smiled and chuckled, making me smile as well. His face returned to its normal scary self, and he walked over to the wheel.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and headed to Nathan's room.

(A/N): I have a poll on my page asking what my next story should be about. if you would, can you please give me an opinion? Thanks! ~Neonculr


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning I was in the infirmary, having Christopher check on my ankle.

"Does it feel okay?" He asked, gently moving my foot.

"Yeah, it just tickles." I said, giggling.

"You should be able to walk without the bandages now. Just be careful. Try putting some pressure on it, to make sure." He said, holding out his hand to me.

I used his hand to get off the bed and gently get on the ground, being careful with my foot.

"Yeah, it feels fine." I said, shifting my weight from foot to foot.

"Good. Now, just be careful for a day or two and you should be all better."

"Thanks Doc! I'm gonna go start on my chores now." I said, heading out.

"Alright." He said, smiling and turning towards his medicine cabinet.

I threw my shoe in Nathan's room next to my recently unused one. I only wore it in the first place because the bandages made my foot stand higher off the ground than my bare foot.

I began my chores, which consisted of organizing all the maps and sorting treasure. After that I had to wash windows, make beds, and clean the bathroom.

My foot started bugging me after washing the windows, so I took a break in the dining room to rest it. Nathan brought me some ice, and after thanking him I placed it on my ankle.

I heard someone walk in the room after a couple of minutes, but didn't really pay them much attention. I was too far away in my thoughts, imagining a forbidden love story between two albino Nightfuries. Nightfuries were usually black, so the albino's were outcast and denied contact with each other. Two runaways met and fell in love. They went somewhere new, and got engaged. Their wedding was crashed by hunters, and at this point they were thrown in cages and being dragged away from one another.

"What are ya doin in here?" The person asked.

I flinched and turned to them, snapping out of my thoughts and back to reality. "What? Oh, my ankle was acting up so I was resting..." I said, taking the ice off of it. I had left it on for too long, and now it was numb. Wait, who am I talking to?

I looked up and saw Russell, looking at me like I was stupid.

"Yer really stupid fer hurtin yerself in the first place." He said, turning his back to me and walking over to a bookshelf.

"Tch. Whatever. I need to get back to work." I said, standing up and almost falling over. "...right." I forgot my foot was numb.

Russell laughed in the corner of the room, and I scowled. I rubbed my foot and shook it, trying to get the feeling back. I forgot about the staticy pins and needles feeling you got when something fell asleep, and sat in agony for five minutes.

Russell was enjoying my suffering, clearly visible as he was dying of laughter in the corner.

Jackass.

I set the partially melted ice on the table and stomped out of the room, the pins and needles shooting in to my kneecap with each movement.

I hurriedly finished the beds and bathroom, just in time for lunch.

"Nathan! I have a recipe for you!" I said abruptly, surprising everyone at the table.

"What is it?" He asked, looking unimpressed.

"Spaghetti!"

His expression went from boredom to confusion. "Spa-what?"

"Spaghetti! It's my favorite food of all time! Next time we go to port, I'll show you the ingredients to make it."

"What's it made of?" He asked.

"You'll see! Trust me, it'll be good!" I said, grabbing a piece of bread. My eyes widened, and a huge smile spread on my face.

"What's with that creepy face?" Eduardo asked.

"Today is Thursday, right?" I asked, turning serious.

"Yeah... Why?" Thomas asked.

The smile returned to my face and I sat down, not explaining myself.

That night rolled along, and I hadn't stopped smiling and bouncing around since lunch. I paced around inside, scarcely glancing outside and constantly checking the clock.

"What the hell are ya doin woman? You've been creepin me out all day." Eduardo said, glancing at me.

I dropped the parchment I'd been ringing in my hands and smiled. "Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven..."

"Don't ignore me!" Eduardo exclaimed.

"Four... Three... Two...!"

"What the hell are you countin down for?" He snapped, getting irritated.

"One!" I yelled, busting out the door and bolting up the main mast. As I reached the top and surveyed the world around me, it was like I had transported to another universe. My eyes reflected the trillions of stars before me, taking in the wonder and beauty they held. Their glimmering brightness and magic they displayed enveloped me, filling me with happiness and wonder.

As I gazed at the stars before me, my shoulders relaxed and a soft smile spread across my lips. I sat atop the mast and stared, letting my thoughts wander as I burned the image in to my memory. I wanted to remember this forever.

Besides the trillions of stars, the moon itself was breathtaking. The crisp and precise crescent shape sliced the darkness of night, illuminating the black sky with a faint and mystical glow.

Finally, in a split second, a single beam of light flashed across the sky. Then another followed it, streaking the sky just as quickly. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the entire sky was filled with shooting stars. They painted the black canvas with their glowing colors, creating a masterpiece of this single moment.

I stayed out that night, not wanting to miss a single second of the show.

After hours of gazing at the brilliant light show, the dreaded light of day splattered all over the painting, spoiling the masterpiece that night left behind. At least I had the shining memory to remember it.

At the dream of dawn I reluctantly left the mast, heading towards the dining room as breakfast started.

I was the third person to enter the dining room, the only others being Christopher and Eduardo. I sat down in my usual spot, and a sudden wave of sleepiness crashed down on me. I figured I could rest my eyes for a second until everyone got there, so I laid my head down on the table and closed them.

Then I was asleep.

No POV:

A couple minutes later everyone had entered the dining room, and Nathan started bringing out food.

"Here is yours, Jo." Nathan said.

She didn't move.

"Jo? Are ya alright?" He asked, putting the plate down and placing his hand on her shoulder.

"She's probably asleep. I saw er out on top if the mast at midnight." Russell said, scarfing down his plate.

"What were you doing at midnight?" Nathan asked, glaring. He assumed Russell was trying to sneak in to the kitchen. He was right.

Russell ran out of the dining room, having already finished his plate, and Nathan chased after him.

"Haha! This is great entertainment in the morning!" The captain bellowed, laughing hardily.

"What do we do about Jo?" Christopher asked, lightly shaking her.

"Ya should probably take her to bed. She's been up all night fer some reason." Captain said.

"I dunno what she was lookin at. Nothin but clouds in the sky." Eduardo said, looking at her.

"It was so pretty Mommy..." Jo murmured, shifting slightly.

Eduardo and the Captain looked at each other, and then back at the snoozing girl. She had a slight smile on her face, but if you looked closely enough you could see the tears squeezing through her eyelids.

"Bothersome woman, makin me carry her cuz she wanted to look at some clouds..." Eduardo mumbled, gently picking her up.

"Where's Daddy...?" She asked a little louder, catching Captains attention again.

"Eduardo, when she wakes up tell her I want to see her." He said.

"Her not gonna do what I think her gonna do, are ya Captain?" Nathan asked threateningly, appearing out of nowhere.

"The girl's twenty years younger than me. I wouldn't do that. I just wanna talk to er."

Eduardo and Nathan looked at each other, and they reached the same conclusion.

Eduardo left the dining room and went to Nathan's bedroom, placing Jo down on the mattress.

"I miss him..." Jo said sadly.

Eduardo placed the blankets over her and she turned over uncomfortably. Her face relaxed, and she smiled slightly. "I love you." She said as a single tear leaked out of her eye.

He sighed and wiped it away, turning on his heel and walking back to the dining room.

Jo POV:

"Don't leave!" I screamed.

Suddenly I was falling, and I slammed against a hardwood floor in a mess of blankets. I paused for a second as my memories returned, and I sighed. I pressed my forehead against the floor and covered my face with my hands, wiping the tears off of my face.

"Are ya alright!?" Nathan asked, running in the room.

"Yeah..." I said, sitting up.

Nathan helped me up, and I hurriedly wiped the rest of the tears away.

"Now that yer up, Captain wanted to see ya." He said with a weird look on his face.

"Alright." I said sleepily. I headed towards his quarters and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"It's Jo."

"You can come in."

I opened the door, and the stench on alcohol slapped me in the face. I scrunched my face up a little, but I was too used to the bar for it to bother me too much. "Do you want me to sit down, or...?"

"Yeah, take a seat." Captain said, setting down a wine bottle.

I sat down in a red, cushioned chair and noticed Captain's jaw flinch. "Oh, am I not allowed to sit here?" I asked, getting up.

"No... It's okay." He said hesitantly.

I sheepishly sat back down in the chair, and asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Captain's face suddenly turned serious and he said, "I want to talk about your parents."

"What? ...Why?" I asked, a little shocked.

"You see, as Captain of the ship I care deeply for all my crew members. Right now, it seems like your parents are bothering you a lot."

"...What do you want to know?"

"When did you first arrive at the orphanage?"

"Eighteen years ago."

"How long did you stay there?"

"Twelve years."

"Why did you run away?"

"I wanted to find my parents."

"Tell me what you can about them."

I grew quiet. My eyes fell to the floor, and I took a second to collect my words. "...I don't remember anything exactly, but sometimes I get these flashbacks or I'll dream about them. Like yesterday, I remember I watched the falling stars with my mom. She told me in a dream the stars would come out Thursday night, so I waited inside all day so I could be amazed as I was that night. I was afraid it wasn't going to be real, because I dreamed she told me."

"You know, the sky was cloudy last night."

"...What?" I asked in shock, looking up at him.

The flashbacks are getting worse...

I shook my head to snap myself out of it and kept talking. "Anyway, that was the day my dad left. I dreamed about it just now."

"What happened?"

"Well, the sun came up and I asked my mom where my dad was. That was when she told me I wouldn't see him for a long time. A few months later, my mom said he was in town again. I waited at the docks all day, but I never saw him. Finally, just as a new set of cargo ships pulled in, I saw him. I ran towards him, calling 'Daddy! Daddy!', but he didn't even turn around. He acted like his own daughter didn't even exist..."

"Are you certain it was him?"

"There's no doubt about it. He dropped this." I said, pulling out my locket. Tears trembled in my eyes as I said, "He stepped on to his ship, and just as it left the dock I screamed, 'Don't leave!' ...And he was gone forever, leaving his two year old daughter and wife behind." I hugged my knees and said, "I don't know why my mom deserted me, or if he ever went back to her. I don't know their names or where I came from. All I know is that he left without saying goodbye, and acted like I was a mosquito when I saw him again. Now I'm having flashbacks and dreams all the time, telling me things I don't want to know and confusing me more. I don't want to know my mom was abandoned. I don't want to know my father hated us. I don't want to know my parents who said they loved me didn't really give a damn at all. I don't want to know it's impossible to find them. I don't want to know that I'm just a nobody that not even my parents wanted."

"Yer really silly." Captain said.

I looked up with my tear filled eyes, and saw a smile on his face.

"There's no such thing as a parent that doesn't love their child. I'm sure there's a reason behind what happened."

"How can you say that? What makes you have so much confidence that they do care about me?"

"You said it yourself. They told you they loved you."

"That doesn't prove anything!" I yelled.

Captain looked taken aback, but I didn't notice.

"Even if it is true, that's not fair to me! Why would they do this to me? Why would they leave me alone with no answers if they truly did love me!? What did I do to deserve this!?" I paused and looked at his face, but his expression told me he had nothing to say.

"Forget it... Forget it!" I yelled, running out of the room. As soon as I ran out the door, I bumped in to Nathan. I turned and saw Eduardo behind me, and I clenched my fists. "You guys were eavesdropping!? I can't trust anybody!" I pushed past Nathan and ran towards his room, throwing open the door and slamming it behind me.

Well, I tried, but something stopped me. I pushed against the door, but whatever was on the other side was stronger.

The door flew open and Eduardo was standing there in the doorway.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" I screamed.

He took a step towards me, and I went to hit him. He grabbed my wrists, and I struggled.

"I said go away! I hate you!"

Suddenly his arms wrapped around me, trapping me. Before I could yell at him, he spoke up.

"I know how much it hurts to have a dad that abandoned you. My father did the same thing." He said.

My eyes widened a little and I stopped fighting, but instead rested my head on his chest. I began to cry, willingly letting the tear fall out of my eyes.

"It hurts so much...What did I do wrong?" I choked out.

"Shut up. Just finish cryin. I won't leave until then."

"Does that mean you're going to leave me too?" I asked, not looking up at him.

"Don't worry about that." Eduardo said, ending the conversation.

I cried for a long time after that. I didn't know I was capable of having so many tears, but just like he said, Eduardo held me until I stopped.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day we had stopped at port, since we were dangerously low on supplies. I had to have someone with me, so I chose the person who was doing something most interesting.

"So Jo, who are you going to go with?" Captain asked.

"I'm going with this one!" I said, hugging the person.

"Huh!? You want to go with me, Miss Jo? All I'm doing is getting supplies-"

"That sounds like fun! We get to go a ton of places and see things!" I snatched the list from him and said, "Now let's go!"

We spent a few hours visiting the different shops and crossing thinks off of the list, until we got everything we needed.

"Alright! Let's put everything back on the ship and have some fun!" I said happily, smiling at Thomas.

"Miss Jo..." He said, looking at me sadly.

"What is it?" I asked, still smiling.

"You don't have to pretend."

My smile dropped. I shook my head and quickly plastered it on again. "Huh?"

"I know it hurts to lose a father... So you don't have to pretend like you're okay..." Thomas said, tears gathering in his eyes.

"Oh, Thomas..." I said, hugging him.

"I'm sorry... You're the one who's sad and here I am crying..." Thomas said.

"It's alright. Everyone has to cry sometimes." I said, stroking his hair. Some tears gathered in my eyes and fell occasionally, but I was too focused on Thomas to notice them.

"M-Miss Jo, your shirt is all wet..." Thomas said, pulling back from me.

"It's fine. A little water never hurt anyone. Now let's get this stuff back to the ship." I replied, picking up one of the boxes.

"Yeah." he said, smiling.

We packed all of the stuff in the storage, and emerged back on to the port with tons of spare time.

"I'm going to find Christopher. Will you be alright, Miss Jo?" Thomas asked.

"I'll be fine. Have fun." I said, waving him off.

He smiled again, and disappeared in to the crowd.

What the hell do I do now?

Just then I heard Captains thundering laughter blowing out an open pub window. I giggled a little, and headed in to the pub.

Twenty minutes later...

"Yer comin with me if ya like it or not!" a drunken thug yelled, grabbing my arm roughly.

All attention turned to him, but I was too pissed to notice.

"Let go of me you drunken bastard!" I yelled back, trying to break free of his grasp. He crushed my arm with his strong grip and ripped me out of my seat, causing Captain to hurriedly stand up.

"I said let go!" I screamed, yanking my arm away from him. My arm slipped out of his fingers, and my foot connected with his jaw.

"The bitch just knocked out Ted! Get er!" another gangster yelled.

"Ted? What kind of gangster name is that?" I asked as the gangsters ran at me.

Captain and I started fighting the gangsters, knocking people out left and right. It turns out the pub was full of em.

"How'd ya get us in this situation?" Captain asked me as he knocked two guys out.

"It's not my fault I'm insanely sexy." I replied, dodging a guy's sword and breaking his arm.

Captain laughed, and two Sirius members entered the pub. They joined in the fight when they noticed us in the middle.

Damn it, I can't use my bow here. I'm not very good at hand to hand combat, so I started to get hit more and more.

Finally the entire crew was in the pub, pummeling the countless thugs as they drunkenly attacked us.

Suddenly I got socked in the eye, my disadvantage catching up with me as I flew back and hit the counter. I slid across the bar and knocked over a ton of mugs, causing them to shatter on the ground. A man jumped on top of me, attempting to punch me again but I flung him in to the glass.

Eventually the last thug was knocked out, and a pile of bodies were on the floor.

"So what the hell happened?" Eduardo asked.

"Some thug tried to take me home so I knocked him out." I said, wiping the blood from my lip.

"You got really beat up..." Thomas said, walking over to me.

"I'm not the best at hand to hand combat. I'm better with my bow but I couldn't use it in here." I replied, sweeping some glass away with my foot. "It would've been too dangerous. Anyway, I'm fine. A black eye isn't anything to worry about." I said, waving my hand in the air.

"We should probably disinfect your cuts and make sure you don't have other injuries. I noticed you went sliding across the bar counter." Christopher said, putting his hand in the small of my back.

"You're right; I don't want to get sick or something." I replied, letting him lead me out of the bar.

After icing my eye, dressing a few cuts, and wrapping my right hand, Christopher took me back to where everyone was.

"This is weird..." I said, looking around.

"What is?" Christopher asked.

"This port seems so familiar... I probably passed through here when I ran away." I replied, shaking it off.

We met up with the crew, and Russell told us about a festival on Main Street. We all decided to go, since we got everything we needed.

"I've been to one of these before!" I exclaimed, looking around at the familiar setup.

"You have?" Thomas asked, interested.

"Yeah, around these parts when someone dies they hold a festival in their honor. The more important the person, the bigger the festival! By the looks of this one, everyone knew and loved the person that died. Their favorite color was white, and their favorite food was anything dipped in chocolate. I think the person was an older woman who died... of either natural causes or a condition."

"Where'd ya get all that from?" Nathan asked, putting his hand on my head.

"Just look. All of the stall verandas are white, and so are the decorations. Almost every food stall is selling something dipped in chocolate. The festival covers the whole street, but there's a relaxed feel instead of a stiff and uptight one. The stalls are built less modernly, so that means the person was older. Also, the stalls are set up along the curve and hills of the street. By not being perfectly straight and defying the natural direction of the street, it means the person died of natural causes or a condition."

"And how do ya know it was a woman that died?" Captain asked.

I pointed just up the street to a small section of lingerie and seamstress shops. "It may have been an extremely perverted guy, but from the audience of comfortable women and children, plus the overall feel of the festival, I assume it was a woman."

"Alright then! We should all meet up at the end of the street in two hours. Till then, do what you want." Captain said.

I went over to the jewelry stands and scanned the merchandise, looking for the third key. I didn't expect to find it, but I did find the second key in a random store. Also, that map was really old. It couldn't hurt to look.

Coming up empty handed, I decided to just walk around.

"My flower!" Someone exclaimed.

Not this idiot...

"After all this time apart, I have finally found my blossoming rose! Let me rescue you, my dearest rosebud!"

I'm two seconds away from murdering this guy...

"Master Alan, I'm so glad you found me!" Fuzzy exclaimed, appearing from somewhere behind me and tackling Alan.

I took the chance and ran away, losing him in the crowd.

After another hour of avoiding Alan and browsing shops, I met up with everyone else at the end of the street.

"Miss Jo! I bought you something!" Thomas exclaimed, bounding up to me happily.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" I said, smiling back at him.

He handed me a single red rose, in full bloom with vibrant color.

"It's beautiful! Thank you Thomas." I said, gently taking the rose and pecking his forehead.

His face grew really red and he stuttered sheepishly, while Eduardo mumbled and started walking. Captain laughed, and no one else was really paying attention.

We walked around for an hour, since Captain said we would stay for the parade. I kept a sharp eye out for Alan and those goons from the bar, and kept asking to go to the temple. Eduardo smacked my head and said we'd go after the parade, but I pouted and said I wanted to go before it got dark.

"It'll be dark by the time the parade is over..." I pouted, crossing my arms and puffing out my cheeks.

Nathan poked my cheek and asked, "Are ya afraid of the dark?"

I flinched. "That's... A tricky question. But I'm not afraid of temples at night. I just want to go so I can see everything." I replied.

"Who'd a thought little miss brave here was afraid of the dark..." Russell said.

"I'm not afraid of the dark! Only sometimes!" I retorted.

"Sometimes?" Christopher repeated.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter. Anyway, the parade will last like three hours. It'll be darker than it already is."

"Fine, fine, but I just want to see a few floats." Captain said, ending the argument.

We sat and watched the floats for about an hour, and I had so much fun I forgot about the temple.

'You're here...' I heard someone say.

"...Mom?" I said, pausing.

"Did you say something Jo?" Thomas said happily, smiling at me.

'You're so beautiful...'

I began looking around, trying to find out who was talking. Whoever it was, she sounded like my mom.

"Are you alright Jo?" Nathan asked.

'It's so nice to finally see you...'

"Mom?" I called a little louder.

'I just can't believe it... You're actually here...'

"Mom!" I yelled, taking off through the crowd of people watching the parade.

"Jo! Wait!" Christopher yelled, calling after me.

I ignored him. I can hear her. She's talking to me. She sees me, I know it. I just have to find her, and then everything will be okay...

'I wish this could last forever...'

I ran back down Main Street towards the temple, tackling the steps two at a time. Her voice is getting louder. I'm close, and she can tell. I'm so close to her, I just have to keep running...

'You did such a good job, Anna. I'm proud of you.'

I jolted at the sudden deep voice and tripped, landing on the steps and smacking my hands on the ground hard. "...Dad?"

'Isn't she beautiful? What should we name her?' My mother asked.

Name me? I already have a name, don't I?

'Josephine. Josephine Dianne.' My father's voice said.

I took off again, hearing the faint voices of the crew at the bottom of the steps but not caring enough to stop.

'That's beautiful. Josephine Dianne Ceil.' My mother replied.

At this point I had no vision, just a strange brightness and my parent's voices filling my ears. I had lost touch with the real world, besides the feeling of my feet hitting the ground and my shaking breath.

'I know she'll make us so proud. She's going to do great things.' My mom continued.

What is the talking about? I haven't done anything great. All I've ever done is get mixed up in trouble...

Suddenly I smacked in to something face first, violently chucking me back to reality and sending me on my butt. I held my nose, and looked to see what I had hit.

In front of me was a framed portrait, surrounded by flowers and presents.

"Jo! What happened!?" Russell exclaimed, reaching me first.

Everyone was on his heels, out of breath and complaining.

"No..." I whimpered, tears leaking down my cheeks.

Everyone looked at me and the painting sitting on the shrine.

I shakily crawled towards the picture and gently touched the glass.

'I found you~' I heard in the wind.

"Mom..." I said, my voice breaking. The rose in my hand dropped to the ground, and I crumpled down to the ground. I stared at the picture and tears dripped on the ground as my body trembled violently.

"I don't get what's going on..." I heard Thomas whisper worriedly.

"This is where they bring portraits and gifts for those recently deceased. The woman at the flower shop told me." Christopher whispered back.

I thought I heard Captain mumble something, but I couldn't make it out.

"Can... Can I have a minute?" I choked out.

Everyone scurried away, and I sat and cried for a minute.

"Mom... I never even got to meet you... That's not fair... I never got to make you proud, or tell you I loved you... I never got to ask you about dad... That's not fair..."

Someone's hand rested gently on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Captain. He had tears in his eyes, too.

"Captain...?"

"Jo, there's something I have to tell you-" he started.

"There they are! Get em!" The goons from earlier yelled.

My eyes tore away from the painting and met the goons, pulling out their weapons and running towards us. My fists clenched and my brow furrowed, anger and fury manifesting itself within me.

I gently placed the rose in front of my mother's painting, and drew my bow.

"Let's cream these motherfuckers." I said, pointing an arrow as they ran at us.

Captain looked at me for a second, but slowly took out his sword. "Yeah." He said. He whistled, and everyone showed up in a moment's notice.

Together we fought, pummeling the thugs like they were mannequins. I myself was filled with rage, taking it out on any goon that crossed my path. Within a minute they were all on the ground or running away.

I wiped my bloody nose with my sleeve, feeling my pulse.

"Did they hurt ya?" Captain asked.

"No, I ran in to the pole." I said, looking at the pole next to the shrine. "Mom..."

Captain stood next to me and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as one of the thugs got back up.

I furiously shot an arrow in to his shoulder and he ran away quickly, dropping a loaded pistol.

"Scum, tryna get us when our backs are turned..." I snarled, picking up the gun.

I took one of the thug's holsters and put it on, shoving the gun in it. Then I lit the shrines candles, illuminating my mom's portrait so I could see her better. I sat down in front of it and gazed for a minute.

"...I don't know why you gave me up... And I'm upset I won't get any answers... But... If you can hear me... I want to say that I love you. If Dad's up there with you can you tell him I love him too, despite what he did? ...I don't know when I can come back and visit, but I promise I'll bring back azaleas when I do. I remember that's what your perfume smelled like, so, I think they're your favorites... They're not in season, so they're not at the festival, but I'll decorate your shrine in them for you, okay? I have to go back to my ship soon, so I'll have to say goodbye... I'm a pirate, believe it or not. I'm not a bad one, though. From the stories my crew members tell me, and the good people they are, there's no way they're bad." I twiddled my thumbs and watched as tears dripped on the ground. "I need to find my crew now. Captain's with me, so we should find them fast. Bye, Mom... I love you..."

I took a second to pull myself back together and stood up. "Come on Captain, let's find everyone else and set sail." I looked at him, and stopped.

He was looking at me, completely silent and poker faced, but with tears in his eyes.

"Captain?"

"Are ya sure... Ya want to leave now?" He asked, struggling to keep it together.

"...If I stay, I'm going to lose it." I replied, my voice shaking violently.

Captain looked at me for a second, the tears shaking in his eyes like they desperately wanted to fall. Slowly, he hugged me. He didn't say a word, just hugged me as I stood in shocked silence.

"I... Can't let ya see me cry." He said.

I hesitantly hugged him back and said, "Everybody cries sometimes."

His shoulders began to shake, and I could tell he was really hurt. I just couldn't tell why.

After we both broke down for a few minutes, we picked up the pieces of our pride and gathered the crew together. I held tightly to Captains arm the whole time, checking to make sure he wouldn't fall apart in front of his crew. I probably wouldn't have been much help, due to the fact I still had a swollen nose and teary eyes.

Once we got to the ship I let him go, and Christopher checked to make sure my nose was fine. After checking out a-ok, I went to Nathan's room, curled up in a ball, clutched my locket, and cried myself to sleep.

(A/N): Hey everybody! I have a poll on my page, so if you have a minute could you vote? Also, don't forget to review! Thanks to all that have read :)


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N): _Totally not due to writers block or just an overall lack of effort, I'm now taking requests! PM me your ideas for what you want to happen! This will help speed up updates and possibly pull me out of my slump. Thanks for waiting! Also, please answer the poll on my page!_

In the week that passed nothing much happened. I cried myself to sleep a couple times and had a run-in with Alan, but that's about it. Alan managed to destroy our ruby key maps, so now we didn't know which course to take. We decided to take the fastest route and go to Moldor first, then Reiz, and finally the Mysterious Islands.

We landed at the Moldor port and split up into pairs, each one of us responsible for finding information. I was paired with Eduardo.

We walked the marketplace streets, asking around and browsing.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, running to a different ship and ditching Eduardo. "I'll take five boxes!" I told the owner.

"You're sure enthusiastic little lady." The owner said, putting them in a bag.

"Of course! This is my favorite!" I said, taking out my money.

"You know what; I'll throw in two for free." He said, placing two more in the bag.

"Really!? Thank you!" I said happily, taking the bag. "Umm, do you know anything about the Ruby Key's location?"

The man's expression turned dark and I retreated a little.

"That damned key was mine... But the bastard went and stole it from me..."

"Sir?"

"I had two of em. The Sapphire Key and the Ruby Key. I was out lookin fer the Diamond Key when that blasted pirate crew stole it."

"Which pirate crew?"

"The Rika..."

"WHAT!?"

"Reginald ol' pal, are ya sayin I stole from ya still? That was three years ago! I cast it in to the ocean last month!"

"YOU WHAT!?" I screamed, clamping my arms around his neck. "Why on Earth would you think you could just drop something like that in the damn ocean!?"

"My... Flower-" he choked out.

"You idiot! Where did you drop it!?"

"At the Crossroads of Geinieu-"

"Why the hell were you all the way over there!?"

"Getting treasure-"

"That key is worth ten chests full of gold you dumbass! And you dropped it in the damn ocean!"

"It was in a bottle-"

I released my hands from his neck and he slumped to the ground. I grabbed Eduardo's hand, cutting him off mid-sentence and dragging him.

"What the hell woman!?" He yelled.

"Call the crew for a meeting. I have something important I need to tell everyone." I said. I let go of his hand and left him, baffled, in the middle of the marketplace.

"What did you call us for?" Captain asked.

"And what are those bags in the corner?" Russell asked.

"Alan stole the Ruby Key from a merchant three years ago and dropped it at the Crossroads of Geinieu last month. Depending on where he dropped it, it could have ended up in six possible places due to the currents."

"Six? Our searching places have doubled..." Christopher said.

"But, he told me he was searching for treasure. This cuts down our search destinations to two. Last month, only these two crossroads lead to or from any types of treasures, metaphorically or literally speaking."

"Metaphoric...?" Thomas repeated, confused.

I pointed to a very tiny island about fifty miles from the crossroad and sent him a knowing look.

He looked at the map, and once he realized his cheeks grew incredibly red.

"Moving on. Due to the currents, we must search a ten mile stretch of these two areas. Once we get info from the ports and villages, we'll go from there. Does that sound alright, Captain?"

"Aye."

"Seriously, what's in these bags?" Russell asked, picking one up.

"Pocky!" I exclaimed, opening a box and biting a stick.

The next day I spent helping Thomas with his chores, and I told him about an idea I had.

"I'll help you! Everyone would love that. But, we have to keep it a secret or it won't be as special. Meet me in my room once everyone is asleep. We'll start tonight." He said, smiling.

"Alright." I said, smiling back.

Once Nathan fell asleep that night I snuck out, hushing my footsteps as I headed to Thomas's room.

"We'll start by moving these boxes. If we put them over there we'll have a lot more room." He said, climbing up to the top.

"Okay. Just throw them down here and I'll carry them." I replied.

"Sounds like a plan."

We started moving the boxes, and I yelled at Thomas saying the thumping of the boxes was too loud. He assured me that no one would wake up unless cannonballs were firing at the ship. I agreed.

I grunted as I moved the boxes, since they were unusually heavy. I figured they were filled with cannonballs and other things like rope.

Russell POV:

I was heading to be kitchen for a midnight snack when I heard a thumping noise. At first I thought it was just the ship, but then I noticed it was coming from down under. I went to investigate, and traced the noise back to Thomas's room. Just before I pushed open the door, I heard Jo's voice and a lot of grunting.

"Ow! Can't you be a little gentler? You're killing me!"

"Sorry, but if I don't do it like this we'll make too much noise." Thomas replied. "And we won't finish before everyone wakes up."

Are they... doing the thing?

"Fine, I'll deal with it. I don't want anyone to find out about this either."

They are!

I moved away from the door and went back to my room. I need to tell the crew about this.

A couple days later I had Christopher and Nathan with me, trying to prove that this was actually happening.

"What the hell are all these candles for?" Jo asked, grunting.

"I was trying to make it easier to see..." Thomas replied, a thumping g noise following his words.

"I don't need to see! I know what to do!" Jo replied. "Were you trying to make it romantic or something? Even if you were it's not working. You're going to kill me in this rose filled room." She mumbled.

"Sorry..."

"Don't apologize, just keep going so we can finish."

No POV:

Thomas and Jo met up every night after that, getting his warehouse of a room ready. They finally reached the last of the boxes, and Thomas called her.

"Miss Jo? I think it's stuck." Thomas said.

The crew, standing outside the door, went pale.

"Stuck? Did you try pulling it out?" She asked.

"It won't move!"

"What are we gonna do? We can't ask the crew for help..."

"Wait, I got it!"

"Eww, it's all nasty down there..."

"We can clean it up. No one will notice with a little elbow grease." Thomas said, laughing a little.

"You're actually going down there? I wouldn't."

"Well, we have to get it clean or else-"

"Yeah yeah, let's just clean it up before everyone gets up. Once we finish with this the real fun starts."

The crew outside all looked at each other, and then at the Captain with a stern look on his face.

Jo POV:

I sat in the dining hall, practically asleep on the table, waiting to talk to Thomas.

"Are you alright Jo?" Christopher asked.

"Yeah, I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately..." I replied, sitting up.

"Oh... Really...?" Christopher replied, seeming cautious.

"I guess losing my mom is affecting me more than I thought it would." I said. I looked at Christopher and said, "I want to thank you guys. I'm glad I can be myself around you without being judged."

"Umm... You're welcome..." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Just then Thomas poked his head in the door and beckoned me outside.

"Miss Jo, I have everything for tonight ready."

"Did anyone find out?"

"No, and I don't think they suspect us. We should be set until-"

Suddenly the dining room door slammed against the wall, and I saw a furious looking Captain. "I'm calling a meeting." He said.

Thomas and I looked at each other, and followed after him.

Once everyone was in the meeting room there were a few seconds of silence.

"Do you two have something you want to tell us?" Captain asked.

We looked at each other and said, "No," at the same time.

"Are you sure?"

We nodded.

Captain slammed his hands down on the table, and I felt everyone's glares piercing us.

"I'm disappointed in you." He said. "What makes you think you could do something so dirty to her?" He asked, looking at Thomas.

"Dirty? What are you talking about?" Thomas asked, confused.

The room tensed up.

"Don't play dumb! You know what you did!" Captain yelled.

"Captain, we haven't done anything wrong-"

"I don't want to hear a word from you!" Captain yelled, snapping at me.

I stared at him, shocked, and he continued yelling at Thomas.

"What were you thinking? Did you think none of us would find out about what you were doing to Jo!?"

"I don't understand-"

Suddenly it clicked. The thumping of the boxes. My grunting as I tried to move the boxes. The way our words could have been interpreted.

They think we did the thing.

Captain grew furious and lunged at Thomas, his hand balled in to a tight fist. I jumped in front of him, and Captain's fist connected with my jaw. My head spun and my teeth shook, but I wouldn't let myself fall over.

The room sat in frozen silence, the series of events shocking everyone.

Captain stepped back and said, "Jo... I'm sorry..."

"How could you?" I asked, my hair covering my face.

"Huh?"

"You thought... You all thought... That I was doing the thing with Thomas. Do you really think I'm like that? Thomas is my best friend. I wouldn't do that to him, and he wouldn't do that to me. I felt like a part of a crew... No, a family. But if you think I would do that... If you all think I'm like that... Then I guess not. Come on Thomas, let's go." I said, grabbing his hand and walking out of the room.

I sat in his room for awhile, curled up in a ball as he sat next to me.

"...Miss Jo?" He said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Why is it you talk to me more than everyone else?"

...How do I answer that? After a minute of thinking, I opened my mouth to speak. "You see... I grew up with no one, so now that I can be myself around all of these people I don't know how. I'm either completely shut out, or over reactant and immature. You understand my feelings and accept me for who I am, so I'm more trusting towards you that anyone else. I feel comfortable around you. It's like I can say anything and you'll know exactly how I feel. It's nice." I smiled and said, "You're like a cute little brother."

Thomas smiled and said, "I was happy you started talking to me, Miss Jo. It's great having someone who understands you. You're just like a big sister!"

I threw my arm over his shoulder and smiled again, ruffling his hair and laughing. "You know, I always wanted a little brother or sister. It would be fun to have someone that's always smiling for you. Someone you could talk to no matter what."

"Really? I always wanted an older sibling. Someone I could look up to and depend on."

We looked at each other and smiled.

It was an unspoken fact I had changed rooms, since all of my stuff was in the warehouse and I slept there. I would eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner outside, along with excluding myself from parties. Thomas and I chatted a lot, sometimes entering deep conversation and other times just laughing about nothing. I had slightly warmed up to Christopher after having several conversations with him.

We landed in the port of Adillei, a tiny port with few visitors. Upon reaching the docks, I hopped down from the mast and headed west. Thomas breached off with me, and the crews cowered the coast. We asked every shop owner and sailor around.

But we had no leads.

I sat slumped over on a barstool, groaning and downing alcohol. His was the first time I'd drank so much, but I didn't care if my body could handle it or not.

In a blur of drunken time the crew had joined me, but I was too busy pouting over my mug. I ordered drink after drink, downing them at an incredible pace.

I did have drinking contests at the bar, but that was difficult. My pride forced me to win. I'd wake up three days later in my house with a mean hangover.

I began feeling drowsy, dozing off on the counter as love music blared in the background.

'_Josephine... What are you doing?_'

Mom?

'_Leave her be. She'll learn on her own._'

Dad?

'_I don't want her to get hurt..._'

I'm fine Mom. Don't worry.

'_She'll be fine. She's a tough girl._'

How do you know that? You were never around.

'_I know, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't watch over her._'

You don't have to baby me Mom...

Just then I heard a knocking, and after some mumbling my father returned.

'_Anna, there's something I need to talk to you about._'

What? Are you going to leave her again?

'_There's going to be a war._'

War?

'What? Why does that involve you?' My mother asked.

'_You see... As the Pirate King, I have to lead us pirates against the navy._'

What? What's a Pirate King?

'_But... What am I supposed to do about our daughter? I can't raise her on my own._'

'_I need you to try. I'm not going to be here for awhile. Promise me you'll try your best._'

'_Dear... I can't-_'

_'Anna, I'm begging you. I'll do whatever I can for right now, but promise me when I come back you'll still be here._'

'_...How is that fair to me?_'

'_I know it's not fair... But... We only have each other. I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you._'

'_...I'll do my best. For you, and for her. I love you too._'

My eyes opened, and the dark interior of the ship greeted me. I sat up, looking over to see if Thomas was asleep. I headed out of the room, going towards the deck to get some fresh air.

"War... Pirate King... I wonder..." I murmured, looking out at the ocean.

Still lost in my thoughts, I headed to the meeting room. I pulled out a range of books and flipped through them.

"In 1752 a war between pirates and the Moldarian navy caused a total of seventeen thousand casualties... The pirates emerged victorious, though there was a peace treaty involved to end the war. The pirates lead by..." My eyes paused on a set of words.

_...lead by Pirate King Morgan, captaining the Sirius at the time. He had left behind a wife and daughter, whose whereabouts are unknown._

'_As the Pirate King, I have to lead us pirates against the navy..._'

My dad... Was captain of the Sirius? But, Captain... Captain Morgan...

The book fell from my hands and I screamed, throwing my hands up to cover my ears. I stumbled, slamming on to the ground as I continued to scream.

The door flew open, but I didn't notice. The crew had their weapons at the ready, but they realized there was no danger.

Thomas crouched in front of me, placing his hands over mine to calm me down.

"Miss Jo, what is it?" He asked.

I looked back at him, tears trembling in my eyes. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the door opened again.

Captain came through the door, disheveled and frantic, as he held his unsheathed sword.


	8. Chapter 8

"You... You!" I screamed, jumping up and clamping my hand around his neck. I slammed him against the wall in his confused state and punched him, causing the crew to react and hold me back. "How long have you known!?" I screamed, struggling against the hands of Nathan and Eduardo.

"What do ya mean?" He asked, clearly confused as he held his face.

"You bastard! Don't pretend you didn't know you were my father!"

A shocked silence ensued, and Captain stared at me wide eyed. "You know?"

Anger boiled up inside me. "You bastard... What the hell were you thinking? You left Mom all alone... How could you say you loved her when you never came back? The war ended in 1752. Where the hell were you? What the hell were you doing while Mom was being forced to give me up?"

"Please, just listen to me. I had no choice. The navy captain at the time held your lives against me. If I would have gone back, you'd be killed before I could reach you."

"Shut up." I snapped. "Do you expect me to believe that?"

"It's true." Christopher said.

"Christopher..." I clenched my teeth and turned back to Captain. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I had just found out when you called Anna 'Mom'. I was going to tell you, but then those thugs showed up-"

"What the hell?" I asked myself. "Is this why you got all overprotective when Thomas and I were trying to throw that party?"

"I thought you were-"

I started laughing. "This is priceless... I finally got what I want and don't even care anymore... For years all I wanted to do was meet you and see why you left... But it doesn't matter. Nothing matters. All those years of going insane for this moment... _but none of it is going to do anything_." I looked up at Morgan and said, "I wish I had never met you, you bastard."

Suddenly, a loud _slap_ sounded through the room. My cheek stung, and Eduardo stood in front of me.

"Are you stupid?"

I slowly turned my face to meet his eyes, glaring at him as Nathan held my one arm.

"You found your father, and he's trying to accept you. Why are ya actin like it doesn't matter?" He snarled.

"What do you care?" I snapped back.

"Yer being ridiculous... Can't ya see what you have!?"

"What does it matter? Nothing matters in the end-"

"Don't be stupid!" Eduardo screamed. "I'm doin whatever I can to ruin my father, but here you are in the lap of luxury with one that actually wants you! Be grateful!"

My knees went weak and I sat in the ground, Nathan releasing my arm. "What the hell? What's the point of this anyway? Why did I go through all this-"

'Look at you Josephine! Your daddy would be so proud!' My mother's voice said, cutting me off.

'Josephine, hide here. There are some mean men outside. You have to be quiet, okay?'

'Sweetie Bug, you might have to go away for awhile. The bad men are getting worse.'

'I'm sorry Honey, but you won't see Mommy for a long time. Just remember, your daddy and I are doing all of this for you, okay?'

I was suddenly back in the old orphanage, trapped in a dark room with the door locked from the outside. The windows were sealed shut, and I could hear one of my friends screaming in the other room. I sat in a corner in shook. The darkness made everything scarier, trapping me in that hellhole called an orphanage.

"Daddy... I'm scared..." I whimpered, both in reality and my memory as I trembled.

As the cold air surrounded me in my distant memory, I felt something new. A pair of arms wrapped around me, like they were protecting me from that horrid place.

I clutched the person, trembling and crying as that paralyzing fear attacked my sanity.

"It's okay. I'm here now."

"Daddy... I love you."

"I love you too."

My eyes snapped open and I flinched. I scrambled away from him, staring at his confused face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

No... This isn't right... Dad... Isn't like this... His tone is so different, but the voice is the same.

"You... You aren't my dad..."

"What? Of course I am. I-"

"No!" I screamed, cutting him off. "Dad... Is different from you..."

Captain sighed.

"Yer right."

"Where's my dad?" I asked, becoming angry.

Captain was silent for a moment. "I'll take you to him on the way to our next searching spot."

I nodded, and he headed towards the door. He stopped and turned to me.

"They thought I was yer dad and gave me some of yer mom's things. I'll leave them here." He said, putting a sack on the table. Then he left.

I sat for awhile, hugging my knees and thinking. Captain knows my dad, looks and sounds like my dad, pretended to be my dad...

What's going on here?

I had to explain the next day captain was NOT my father, and he stayed locked up in his room. When someone checked on him they'd find a locked door and drunken mumbling.

Four excruciating days passed, and my head kept going around in circles. I just couldn't figure out why Captain would pretend to be my dad, or what he would get out of it. He knew my mother and cried over her. He knew my father and was taking me to him.

The ship finally came to a stop, resting against a ragged coast. Captain came out of his room, teary eyed and full of alcohol.

He led the crew and I through a skull shaped island, evading old traps and thoughtlessly taking turns.

We ended up in a flower filled garden, with a single stone erected on the ground.

My heart dropped.

"No... That's not right..." I said, not daring to go to the headstone.

"I'm... Afraid so..." Captain choked out.

"How long?"

"Seventeen years comin up..."

"Damn it..." I said, clenching my fists. I looked, teary-eyed, at the headstone and walked to it. "Is this a joke?"

"What? No. I buried him here almost eighteen years ago. He caught a sickness and died on the ship..."

"This grave is empty." I spat venomously.

"What?" Captain said, running over. A four foot dusty trench stared back at him, with no bones in sight. There were no animals on the island, so that possibility was out.

"I don't get it... He died... His heart stopped, his breathing was gone, and his body turned cold..."

"That's enough." I snapped. "I want to know everything, and I want to know now." I snarled, glaring at Captain.

"...Your father was my twin brother. When he died, he secretly handed the position of Pirate King to me to prevent another war and widespread panic."

"What the hell... Why did you pretend?"

"Morgan's last words to me were 'If you ever see my daughter tell her I love her, and tell Anna I'm sorry.'"

Tears stung my eyes. "If he's not here... Is he alive?"

"Knowing my brother, anything is possible."

I pursed my lips. "I'm going back to the ship." I murmured, turning on my heel and pushing past the crewmembers.

I sat in the far corner of Thomas's room, curled in a ball as my thoughts wandered. I wondered what type of person my dad really was. I wondered what my mom was like. I wondered about everything in general. I understood what was going on, but I asked unnecessary questions. I wanted to know why, when the reason itself wouldn't make a difference. The only thing that would matter is if Dad was alive or not. Then I wondered, would anything change? If I found my dad alive, would he take back the Sirius or ask me to stay with him on land? If I found him dead, would it make any difference? If Mom was still alive, would I have stayed with her? Then my thoughts branched to something different. Why am I on this ship anyway? I could have just gotten off at the last port and walked back home. I had my baby. That was all I needed to survive.

But then it hit me.

This is a game. A game called life. If you kill yourself, you lose. If you have no purpose, you lose. There is only one way to win. You win by being happy. Just like a card game, you can be down on your luck or get a bad hand. It's all about timing, luck, and strategy. I had dealt a bad hand. A very bad hand.

Right now, I'm playing Bullshit. I have all the other crew members playing with me. I have the extension of my father. That's 7 people, 54 cards. 2 people will get 7 cards, and 6 will have eight. I have eight. I have three Aces, two Jokers, and four Jacks. I have to call all I can, and bullshit flawlessly to survive. Analyze opponent's faces, body language, and words. Memorize cards. Use everything to my advantage.

Let's win this shit.

We stopped at the port is Beli to look for the Ruby Key. It was here. I could feel it. While scouring the marketplace I bought myself a deck of cards, to help me understand the game of course.

Upon meeting a chatty old lady by chance, she told me about a secret black market auction happening where the key was on sale. It was the main event. Paying her with kind smiles and a freshly baked cinnamon roll, I hurried to the nearest bar.

I met the depressed crew, and with my exaggerated entry I brought attention to myself.

"Men, I have great news. But along with that… some bad news."

The crew stationed themselves outside, and filled them in on the auction. We'd be amongst nobles, so we'd have to be dressed to the nines.

"Wait a second, who's running the auction?" Eduardo asked.

"Vincent DeuCrow, a politician."

"The gambler?" Christopher commented.

"If we're up against nobles like that, our auction bids will have to be made up…" Thomas said.

"Say that again!" I said, pointing at Thomas.

"Our bids will have to be fake…" He replied, confused.

"Christopher, what's his game?" I asked, moving my pointed finger to him.

"Cards. Poker, Blackjack, War, and-"

"Bullshit!" I yelled, interrupting him.

"Yeah…"

I pulled out my deck of cards and said, "Men, I'm gonna need some practice."

I played cards often with my customers at the bar, learning the rules and tactics to win. I learned other games like Speed, Egyptian War, and classics like Go Fish or Old Maid. Every once in a blue moon someone'd play Crazy Eights or Slap Jack. Of course I knew games like Hearts, Spades, and Solitaire, along with Rummy and Bridge.

We practiced all of these games, and until dusk I kept improving my skills. I memorized my deck, and I knew the cards. I had this in the bag.

With Thomas (who was hopeless at cards) returning with our new outfits, we dressed ourselves and headed to the auction.

…This is awkward. I was the only woman in the room. Because of this, one of the crew was always at my side.

Suddenly I spotted the main character, and left my guard to meet him.

"Mr. DeuCrow?" I said, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

He turned, and I saw his sickening eyes scan me. He smiled a yellow toothed smile and said, "Why hello my dear. What is it?"

I smiled back. "I heard you like cards." I said, pulling my deck out of my glove.

He smiled wider.

"Let the bids begin!"

This was a different type of auction. It was decided by cards. The deck determined whether or not you got your prize. Of course, I sat at the table competing for the key. The crew became lost puppies, ending up at completely different tables.

"Pick your game." Our dealer said.

Names like Poker were shouted out, but I remained quiet.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, where are your manners? Be respectful of the lady. Miss, what would you like to play?" He asked, gently touching my hand.

I looked at him through my masquerade mask and smiled. "Bullshit."

Five people at the table. The winner of this round plays against another four. Four people received eleven cards. That meant we were playing with Jokers.

The first round was played by first timers, so Vincent would have to wait for the second round. I had to win.

The dealer handed us our cards, and I noticed I only had ten.

I spent the round quietly, letting the men compete with themselves. I didn't call bullshit, so I didn't get accused of it. Using this tactic, I watched as the card number decreased from my hand and increased in others.

I placed my last card down and said, "One Seven. I'm out."

The men eyed me.

"If you want to call bullshit, go ahead. I dare you."

The man next to me placed his card down.

"Shoulda called it." I said, a mischievous smile appearing on my face.

The men glared at me. Then they continued to see who would take second place, winning a different prize.

After all the matches were over, the second and final round started. The crew lost on purpose, since everything else was just bootlegged paintings. All attention was on our table, since it was saved for last.

Finally our match started. I looked at my hand, and smiled beneath my Poker Face. I had both Jokers.

Five minutes in to the game only a few cards were on the table. Most of them were in people's hands. I had been the sole person calling bullshit, causing me to stress my crewmembers.

I had six cards left. Four Aces and two Jokers.

Mr. DeuCrow, with only one card left said, "One Ace."

He was in front of me. It was my turn. With no emotion on my face, I called, "Bullshit."

The table froze, and the room's faces went white. I hadn't called anyone for Aces before this, and bullshitted mine. Nobody knew who had the Aces so they never called. I also noticed no one dared call on Mr. DeuCrow.

He smiled, and took the deck.

I placed my cards on the table and said, "Four Aces."

"She had them!" The crowd whispered.

I kept my cards so only I could see them, since the crowd gave things away.

My turn came around again, and a man with one card left put it down. "One five."

"Bullshit."

His face dropped, and he flipped his card over.

A Queen.

A murmur went through the crowd, and all attention focused on me.

He picked up the cards on the table in defeat, glaring at me as I sat looking calmly at my cards.

My turn rolled around, and Mr. DeuCrow had placed four Kings on the table. At this point most people were putting down the four cards of one number they had, so an impressive pile had accumulated.

"Two Aces."

"Bullshit!" the entire table called.

The room held their breath.

I reached for my cards.

The crew lowered their heads.

I flipped over my cards.

The table's faces went white.

The room sat in shock.

I smiled.

The room erupted in cheers, and the crew celebrated in a mix on disbelief and relief.

In Beli, the Joker was a golden card. It stood for anything. If you called bullshit on a Joker, you automatically lost the game and your cards went in the pile. Since everyone had called it and lost the game, places would be determined by number of cards in your hand. The lowest number would get second, and so on.

"I would like the Ruby Key now, if you wouldn't mind." I said, challenging the men with my eyes.

One of the dealers brought me a key, cased in a velvet box. The color matched my dress, and the Sapphire Key popped against the dark red color.

"Thank you. Men, our business is done." I said, referring to the crew. I heard a slight noise and paused. "Mr. DeuCrow, I don't advise shooting me."


	9. Chapter 9

Attention turned to him, who now had a pistol pointed at me.

"Do ya really think I'd let you walk outta _my_ auction with the Ruby Key?" he asked, coming closer to me.

I noticed the crew was about to take out their weapons, but I told them with my eyes not to. I kept my back to Mr. DeuCrow, and said, "Yes. I won fair and square."

He grabbed my arm from behind and put the cold nozzle of the gun to my neck. "I know ya were cheatn." He snarled.

"You were the one cheating. You had an extra deck up your sleeve." As I said this, I elbowed his left arm and a pile of cards fell to the floor.

He pushed the gun to my neck harder, placing his finger on the trigger. "I'll shoot ya full of bullets!" He exclaimed.

I turned my head slightly to meet his eyes and said, "Bullshit."

His finger clicked the trigger, and the cocked gun made a sound.

"…What the hell?" He said, looking at the once loaded gun.

"Looking for these?" I asked, turning around and holding up my hand. Four bullets sat in the spaces between my fingers.

"What!? When did you-!?"

"In the first round you touched my hand, and I noticed an irregular fold in your suit. So in the second round when you took off your overcoat I removed your bullets, pretending to fix your cufflinks."

He pulled the trigger three more times, realizing his four-shooter was empty. He threw the gun on the ground and exclaimed, "Who the hell do you think you are!?"

I smiled. "Me? I'm just a player in the game." I pulled out the Ace of Spades and said, "I just have a better hand than you do."

I turned to the Sirius crew, and we all left the auction.

We had set sail, and when I walked in the meeting room everyone was disputing about which route to take.

"She's here! Let her decide!" Thomas exclaimed.

"We have the damn keys! Let's just go to the pass them look fer him!" Eduardo yelled back.

"Umm…"

Captain looked at me and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"What?"

"There are two routes we could take. One straight to the Emerald Pass, or we can continue looking for my brother."

I sat down in the empty chair. After a minute of thinking, I smiled.

"Let's go to the pass."

"Huh?" the crew responded.

"I thought she'd wanna look for her dad…"

"If that's all you needed me for, I'm gonna do what I wanted to do." I said, standing up. I walked over to a small cupboard and took out a box of Pocky, eating one as I left the room.

I was in Thomas's room playing with my cards when Eduardo showed up. It was strange to see him, but I didn't really mind.

"You…"

I looked up from my cards.

"You're interesting."

I tilted my head slightly.

He sat down in front of my cards and said, "I thought fer sure you'd want to look for your dad."

I smiled. "I thought it'd be interesting. Besides, I have the rest of my life to look for my dad. Only heaven knows if I'll even find him. But I guarantee something'll happen to the pass if we postpone it."

"Like what?"

"The fourth key may be lost. Remember, it's right under our nose, but we don't know it."

"I forgot all about that…" he said.

I placed some freshly shuffled cards in front of him, and looked at my hand.

"What are we playing?" He asked.

"I heard you're good with numbers, Navigator. Were playing Speed."

Fifteen rounds later I was slamming cards down frantically trying to beat Eduardo. I slammed my last card down, thinking that I won, only to find him cleaning his nails with a pocketknife.

"Geez you're slow." He said.

"Well I'm sorry I never went to school!" I exclaimed, slapping the deck and scattering cards.

"You never went to school?" Eduardo asked, looking away from his nails.

"The orphanage I lived at didn't have a school around, and the lady who owned it was too busy neglecting us to teach us anything besides fear." I said, picking up the cards.

Eduardo was silent.

I flipped over the cards so all the backs were up and started shuffling them.

"You're not upset about that?"

My hands stopped.

"Is there a reason I should be?"

"…You've had a really hard life. Your parents, that orphanage, and now yer here. Aren't ya angry or upset about any of it? It doesn't seem unfair to you?"

I set the cards down in a neat pile and smiled. "Isn't that the point?"

"Huh?"

I picked up the first three cards of the deck and spread them out face up. "In most card games, the Jokers are taken out." I pulled the Joker from the three. "That leaves Aces. In Blackjack, Aces are a 1 or 11." I pulled the Ace away, leaving a King. I pulled two more cards, a Jack and a Queen. "In Blackjack, all face cards equal 10. But in War, Kings are more than Queens, and Queens are more than Jacks." I placed all of the cards back in the deck. I pulled out the Ace of Spades and flipped it between my fingers. "That's not fair to the cards. But, it's the players will. If I was this Ace," I said, stopping the card, "I could be a 1, or 11, based on the players will." I looked at Eduardo, who was completely lost, and said, "I couldn't think of a more interesting game to play."

He smiled. "If you're an Ace of Spades, what would I be?"

"Two of Clubs." I said, sliding him the card.

"What!?"

"Captain is a Joker, and Thomas is a Jack of Hearts. Russell is a Seven of Spades, Christopher is a Ten of Diamonds, and Nathan is an Eight of Hearts." I said, pulling out the cards.

"Why am I a Two?" He asked, glaring at his card.

"Because you hate me." I replied, shuffling the cards in to the deck.

He was quiet.

I bridged the cards and I thought I heard him mumble something.

"What?" I asked, my hands pausing.

"...I don't hate ya."

I looked up at him.

"Ya just... Know how to mess with me."

"Huh?"

"Ya managed to find the Ruby Key map in a night when we'd been lookin fer it for years. Ya even found the Diamond Key and Sapphire Key in the same day. It just... Gave me some envy."

I smiled. "I see, Navigator."

"What are ya smilin fer?"

I set half the deck in front of him and placed a card face up between us.

"If you beat me, I'll tell you something. If I win, I'll do whatever you want me to for one day."

"Seems unfair. Either way I gain something." Eduardo said, pulling his half closer to him.

"That's what makes it interesting." I said, flipping over my first card.

Two of Clubs.

Eduardo flipped over his card, smiling as he did so.

Ace of Spades.

He took my two, and I smiled. I need to win my Ace back.

Three hours passed, and we played the same game of war the entire time. It started out with me winning, but Eduardo one another Ace in a war and started gaining cards. In a war between the Seven of Spades and Seven of Diamonds, he flipped a Nine of Hearts and I flipped a Jack of Clubs. In his three flipped cards were two Aces, including the Ace of Spades. In a final war, I took Eduardo's final card and won the game.

I bridged the cards and started dealing again, silence maintaining the room as I did so. I gave him half the deck, and placed my own in front of me.

"…If I tell you, are you going to listen?" I asked.

"What the hell kind of question is that?"

I took that as a yes. "I saw my mom once. Before she died, and after she gave me up. She was… with a man I didn't know, strolling around the marketplace holding his hand. She didn't have the ring dad gave her on her finger."

"Huh?"

I pulled out the sack Captain left on the table that night and pulled out Mom's wedding ring. "But she kept it. She knew Dad was dead, so she kind of flaunted herself a little bit. One night, exactly two weeks ago, she brought a guy home. She'd been with him for a few months. They were about to… You know, when he saw this picture." I pulled out a picture of my mom, my dad, and me as a baby. "He saw this and went ballistic. He didn't know she had a family- well, _had_ one, and thought she was cheating on him. He strangled her, and made it look like she passed in her sleep."

Eduardo looked at me, dumbfounded.

My voice shook as I said, "She was murdered… and now that man is running around like nothing ever happened… He has a wife and kids at home, so I don't get why he was so mad at Mom…" As I spoke, tears dripped on to the glass protecting the picture. "Captain told me he overheard it in a bar… the man was braggin about it like he was proud…"

Something rested on my head, and I looked up from the picture to see Eduardo's outstretched arm.

"I'm no good at consolin people…" He said with an awkward look on his face. He patted my head and said, "Um, don't cry?"

It sounded more like a question than something to make me feel better, but I laughed a little and wiped my eyes. "Who knew Eddy has a weakness for girls that cry…" I said.

His face turned angry and he said, "Don't call me that, or I'll throw ya overboard."

"I laughed a little more and said, "Okay, okay. Now let's play Egyptian War."

"...Egyptian War?" He repeated.

We were now sailing back towards home, a whopping six week trip. When Captain told us that I almost fell over and died, but I managed to just sit in my chair and groan.

I was out practicing when I noticed a dark ship. It seemed to be trailing us, but I brushed it off as nothing.

A bent arrow went astray, puncturing a door right beside someone's head.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry!" I yelled, jumping down and running towards them.

Russell yelled at me and told me I was stupid, smacking me upside the head and snatching my bow.

"Hey! Give that back!" I yelled, jumping for it.

"Only if you can get it." He teased, holding it above his head.

"Don't act all high and mighty! You're only three inches taller than me!" I yelled, standing in my tiptoes.

My fingers brushed my bow, but it was taken from Russell's hand.

Christopher stood behind him, glaring at him. "Russell, it's not nice to tease girls." He smiled and held it above his head. "But it is fun every once in awhile.

"Hey! You're even taller!" I yelled, jumping for my bow but being too short.

Christopher then handed the bow to Nathan, who was an inch taller than him.

"You guys suck! Give me my bow damnit!" I yelled, stomping my foot.

Captain appeared behind Nathan, snatching my bow and running.

"That's not fair! Get back here you freakish giant!" I exclaimed, dropping my arrows and running after Captain.

As he ran along the side of the ship I ran up some stacked cargo, jumping off the top and swinging on a rope. I flew past him, grabbing my bow and flying over the water. The rope began to wrap around the main mast, and as I slowed down I jumped on to the deck.

"Geez you guys, I get that you want to make up with me but you don't need to go that far..." I said, picking up my arrows.

Something hit me in the back of the head, and I noticed a paper airplane at my feet. I picked it up and read the writing inside.

'Dear Flower, be prepared to be stolen away.'

"Oh god..." I mumbled, crumpling up the airplane.

Suddenly a cannonball landed right beside me, causing me to flinch and scream. A piece of wood sliced my leg, but I didn't notice.

"My precious flower, I shall sink the aphids that threaten to wilt your blooming petals!" I heard a familiar voice exclaim.

"Eww, what? He's just getting worse..."

The next fifteen minutes concluded in the Rika crew tied up on our deck.

"My dearest rose had been watered with pesticide!" Alan exclaimed.

"Geez, won't you just give up on her already?" Russell asked, irritated.

"I shall never leave my rose unless she seeks sunlight from another!"

"Are you saying that if I fall in love with someone else you'll leave me alone?"

"If a day as dark does come."

"Sweet." I said, grabbing the person closest to me. I pulled him and connected my lips with theirs, catching everyone off guard.

I disconnected from the person and turned to Alan. "This is the man I love."

His eyes were full of shock and tears as he looked at me. Suddenly he burst out of the ropes, holding a dagger in his hand. "My flower has been picked by another! I have no reason to go on!" He exclaimed. He jumped over the side of the boat, his crew scrambling to their ship. Once they hoisted him back on to the boat they took off, Alan's screaming lingering in the air.

I let go of whoever I grabbed and patted them on the shoulder. "Thanks. He'll be gone for awhile now."

"What the hell woman!?" Eduardo exclaimed.

"I kissed you? Oh boy, Alan'll be gone for a _very_ long time."

"You're my brother's daughter alright!" Captain said, slapping me on the back.

"At least for now we can focus on getting to the Emerald Pass." I said, looking at Captain.

My heart heaved, and I was short of breath for a second.

'I'll see you soon, I promise.'

"Are you okay?" Captain asked, putting his hand on my back.

"Yeah... Just a headache..." I replied, focusing on my pounding head.

"I have some aspirin in the infirmary." Christopher said.

"Can I have some? I have stuff to do today."

"Sure. Follow me."

After taking some pills and drinking some water, Christopher found my cut and disinfected it. It didn't need a bandage since it wasn't that deep.

"...Hey, Christopher?"

"What is it?"

"Do you think I'm sad?"

"What?"

"I was talking to Eduardo yesterday, and he asked me if I was upset or angry because of what's happened in my life. Should I be mad about it?"

"Being mad about it won't solve anything."

"That's what I thought. I compared life to a card game, where god is the player and we as people are the cards. Other people's plays affect our strategies and actions. And your hand is like what you were born with. Those dealt good hands are lucky, and those dealt bad hands can still win the game."

"That's actually a really good analogy."

"Right? Eduardo understood what I was saying after I told him that."

"So do you not care about finding your father?"

"I have all the time in the world to look for Dad. For all I know he could be dead, so I'd rather take the treasure for the Emerald Pass before the keys have a chance of getting stolen."

"I see. Well, it's good to hear you're alright."

"Thanks. I'm gonna start on my chores."

"Be careful."

I laughed as I exited the room.


End file.
